WHY KETTLEBELLS FOR BASKETBALL? Kettlebells possesses the unique shape and design which allows it be lifted and swung in several planes of motion, and in movement patterns comparable to those demanded in Basketball.
Indeed that basketball is a physically demanding sport wherein players must be a complete athlete: strong and explosive while exhibiting fine motor skills when shooting, passing, rebounding, and dribbling. Basketball players must be conditioned to the demands of the sport. Aside from the drills performed by athletes during trainings, strength or weight training also plays an important role to increase the strength of muscular contractions, speed, and flexibility – which makes a stronger and faster player.
Kettlebell training is a form of strength or weight training that gives utmost importance to the lower body and core strength focusing mostly on upper body aesthetics. A basketball player must be able to efficiently run, shuffle, jump, and cut. All of these movements are performed primarily through the use of the ankles, knees, hips and core. In reality, players should possess the proper strength, power, flexibility, balance, coordination, and quickness to effectively compete on the court, because regardless of the rules, bodies collide and push up against one another with great speed and power. Due to the nature in which kettlebell drills are performed, one must contend with ballistic shock. Training in this environment will prepare one for the forces they will encounter on the court thus reducing risk in injuries due to the body properly accustomed to the demands of the sport.
Another point to consider is the position of the ball itself. A huge amount of time is spent in a partial squat position with the ball between the player’s legs. Although most strength and conditioning programs include some variations of Olympic lifts, only kettlebell variations begin from this position teaching the value of spinal stabilization, hip extension, and resisted deceleration. Barbell and dumbbells variations usually have the athlete standing in a narrow stance with their hands outside their legs, this position rarely occurs in the actual game.
BASIC AREAS IN BASKETBALL WHERE KETTLEBELLS CAN BE INCORPORATED:
• Training the muscles of the torso also known as core (hips, abdominals and lower back). The core is the link between the upper and lower extremities. It’s very important to develop a strong core in order for athletes not to have limited athletic performance. Forces that are generated from the legs and hips can be transferred into efficient movements when the core is solid and strong. This translates into running faster and jumping higher. Core training is an essential aspect of Kettlebell training and there are several exercises such as Turkish Get-up, Lunge and Squat Variation, Windmill, Russian Twist, and others that primarily target this area developing athletic strength, agility and injury resistance.
• Strengthen the muscles of the posterior and lateral hip (i.e. hamstrings and glutes). These muscles play an important role in rebounding, boxing out, blocking shots, and taking jump shots. A commonly shut down muscle group are the gluteals. The gluteal muscles are responsible for hip extension, external and internal rotation of the hip, abduction of the hip and they also aid in stabilizing the knee. Another one is the hip flexors; these become shortened typically from weak abdominals and a weak posterior chain. All Kettlebell foundational exercises such as the Swings focus on “activation” of these important muscles.
• Kettlebell drills such as Around-the-Body Pass, and Figure-Eight exercise helps improve reaction time, speed, and hand-eye-feet coordination.
• Common injuries in basketball occur at the ankles and knees. Lower body exercises that teach proper force reduction are crucial in reducing injuries in the lower extremities. It was proven that a good majority of the athletic population is in anterior tilt, and low back injuries in sports and weight training are often related to poor gluteal function, and lack of external oblique strength.
• Incorporate exercises to improve the strength and the range of motion to improve mobility. Due to the off-centered weight of a Kettlebell, an individual is forced to use more stabilizer muscles and work the targeted muscles through longer range of motion. The ballistic impact of it teaches the person how to absorb shock efficiently.
• Players should learn how to land and distribute ground forces from joints to muscle. This is another aspect that a kettlebell trained person will definitely be good at, as most kettlebell exercises requires proper grounding, therefore our body, specifically our foot will get used to properly absorbing forces and keeping the base of support stable and ready to adjust to the movements of the Center of Gravity.
• Absolute speed (or linear speed) is not necessarily important in basketball. Lateral speed and the ability to accelerate, decelerate, and change direction is crucial. Speed strength or Ballistic power is the ability to express significant tension in minimal time. Speed strength is essential for overall speed of movement when attempting to throw, submit and shoot.
• Basketball is a game of brief but intense and repeated burst of action and the ability to recover quickly is vital for playing hard. Therefore, conditioning must mimic the energy demands of the sport.
• Mental toughness when under fatigue. Due to the nature of the Kettlebell training, in which sets are timed and not counted in repetitions. It will force the athlete to adjust its pace, have proper breathing, to be able to finish the required time frame. This will inevitably (obviously) develop great work capacity, which will prove to be extremely useful when performing under extreme stress
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
What are the Benefits of Kettlebell Training?
Kettlebell training programs are found to be superior when rated in terms of ‘Biomotor’ richness. Biomotor means “Life movement”, so biomotor abilities are those abilities that are necessary for functional human movement. These can simply be defined as: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Coordination, and Flexibility. Power is the combination of strength and speed. The combination of Flexibility and Coordination produces Agility.
The concept of using kettlebells during workouts is total body integration. Because you do incorporate the lower body and upper body together, kettlebell exercises produce great results in less time than most other forms of exercise. For active sport individuals, kettlebell training can hasten your compound movements, giving power and support to your lower body, core, upper body, cardiovascular, aerobic and an-aerobic, and grip training.
Our bodies are integrated and in real life particularly in any kind of sport, we don’t do isolated body movements. With this that we want to train the body in movement patterns that are natural to the body and to our specific sport. We move in multiple planes with multiple joint actions, thus full body exercises which are referred to also as functional exercises are mechanically sound and they strengthen the “kinetic chain” (integrated movement systems of the body). Also, functional movements have shown to bring forth high endocrine response, a critical component for fitness improvement.
The interesting thing with kettlebells is that there is great carry-over effect into other physical activities. You don’t just train with certain specificity. When you train with kettlebells, you achieve full body exercise. Gains were not only great in the
areas specifically trained for, working out with kettlebell will also give unexpected, residual side-effect strength for everyday life.
The concept of using kettlebells during workouts is total body integration. Because you do incorporate the lower body and upper body together, kettlebell exercises produce great results in less time than most other forms of exercise. For active sport individuals, kettlebell training can hasten your compound movements, giving power and support to your lower body, core, upper body, cardiovascular, aerobic and an-aerobic, and grip training.
Our bodies are integrated and in real life particularly in any kind of sport, we don’t do isolated body movements. With this that we want to train the body in movement patterns that are natural to the body and to our specific sport. We move in multiple planes with multiple joint actions, thus full body exercises which are referred to also as functional exercises are mechanically sound and they strengthen the “kinetic chain” (integrated movement systems of the body). Also, functional movements have shown to bring forth high endocrine response, a critical component for fitness improvement.
The interesting thing with kettlebells is that there is great carry-over effect into other physical activities. You don’t just train with certain specificity. When you train with kettlebells, you achieve full body exercise. Gains were not only great in the
areas specifically trained for, working out with kettlebell will also give unexpected, residual side-effect strength for everyday life.
What is a Kettlebell?
A Kettlebell (‘Girya’ in Russia) is a centuries-old Russian training tool that resembles like a bowling ball or cannonball with a handle on it.
Kettlebells were originally used as counter-weights in Russian markets. Country folk started throwing them around and eventually they became very popular in Russia as a training tool. It was also used by the Russian Military as strength and conditioning training.
Kettlebell workouts are intended to increase Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Balance, challenging both the muscular and cardiovascular system with dynamic, total body movements. A kettlebell trained body is strong yet lean and athletic
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
10 Reasons Why You Should Train with Kettlebells
In the fitness industry, it is filled with countless training methods and it can get so confusing for the lay public to know what the best approach is for them in terms of health and fitness. Most of most common methods that you can find offers different benefits but very seldom you can get a broad range of benefits that you can get from kettlebell training. Kettlebell training almost covers all aspect of health and fitness. Below are 10 Reasons Why You Should Train with Kettlebell
1. Increase Metabolism - As kettebell training is a form of weight training, it helps increase lean muscle tissue that can contribute to increased metabolism. And with the ballistic kettlebell exercises, they are explosives and speedy lifts had been found in research to burn more calories
2. Fat Loss - Kettlebell training is a form of high-intensity training that can induce fast fat loss and many Russian studies found that regular kettlebell users have low body fat percentage.
3. Time-Efficient - You do not need to spend countless of hours in kettlebell training to see the benefits such as fat loss, flexibility, cardio fitness and strength gain. It is indeed an all-in-one fitness tool that does it all. Where else can you find a form of exercise that develops all-round fitness? Therefore, this form of training can be very practical for busy individuals who is seeking fast and effective results
4. Development of Functional Strength - Kettlebell training is very unlike conventional weight training in the gym as it emphasizes on movement efficiency rather than isolating muscles groups. As a result, the training improves functional strength that can improve athletic performance and movements that we used in our everyday life
5. Improve Cardiovascular Fitness - Due to the high-intensity nature of kettlebell training, you can improve your cardiovascular fitness without spending endless hours pounding away on the pavement
6. Improve Flexibility - Amazingly, kettlebell can improve flexibility due to its requirement to work through full range of movement. In fact, it improves joint mobility which is very important as it determines the ease of the moving the joints through active movements
7. Reduce Pains and Aches - It is not uncommon to hear that people started using kettlebell has reduction of pains and aches in their body such as knees and shoulders. This is because the Russian training method focuses on moving correctly and fixes misalignment and compensations in the body
8. Prevent Low Back Pain - Kettlebell training strengthened the lower back, glutes, and hamstring and improves core stability that helps prevent lower back pain. It has been found that strength in lower back does not prevent low back pain but it is muscular endurance that prevents that. And the fundamental kettlebell swing is literally build strength endurance in the back easily
9. Improve Posture - It helps improves posture because it focuses on movement efficiency and strengthens the postural muscles. As a result, there is no more rounded shoulder or sore shoulder joints
10. Cost-Saving - Kettlebell is indestructible fitness training equipment that can withstand high abuse and last a life-time. Plus, its effectiveness in delivering results and limited space required the cost of doing kettlebell training is far lower than investing in gym memberships or any exercise equipments
1. Increase Metabolism - As kettebell training is a form of weight training, it helps increase lean muscle tissue that can contribute to increased metabolism. And with the ballistic kettlebell exercises, they are explosives and speedy lifts had been found in research to burn more calories
2. Fat Loss - Kettlebell training is a form of high-intensity training that can induce fast fat loss and many Russian studies found that regular kettlebell users have low body fat percentage.
3. Time-Efficient - You do not need to spend countless of hours in kettlebell training to see the benefits such as fat loss, flexibility, cardio fitness and strength gain. It is indeed an all-in-one fitness tool that does it all. Where else can you find a form of exercise that develops all-round fitness? Therefore, this form of training can be very practical for busy individuals who is seeking fast and effective results
4. Development of Functional Strength - Kettlebell training is very unlike conventional weight training in the gym as it emphasizes on movement efficiency rather than isolating muscles groups. As a result, the training improves functional strength that can improve athletic performance and movements that we used in our everyday life
5. Improve Cardiovascular Fitness - Due to the high-intensity nature of kettlebell training, you can improve your cardiovascular fitness without spending endless hours pounding away on the pavement
6. Improve Flexibility - Amazingly, kettlebell can improve flexibility due to its requirement to work through full range of movement. In fact, it improves joint mobility which is very important as it determines the ease of the moving the joints through active movements
7. Reduce Pains and Aches - It is not uncommon to hear that people started using kettlebell has reduction of pains and aches in their body such as knees and shoulders. This is because the Russian training method focuses on moving correctly and fixes misalignment and compensations in the body
8. Prevent Low Back Pain - Kettlebell training strengthened the lower back, glutes, and hamstring and improves core stability that helps prevent lower back pain. It has been found that strength in lower back does not prevent low back pain but it is muscular endurance that prevents that. And the fundamental kettlebell swing is literally build strength endurance in the back easily
9. Improve Posture - It helps improves posture because it focuses on movement efficiency and strengthens the postural muscles. As a result, there is no more rounded shoulder or sore shoulder joints
10. Cost-Saving - Kettlebell is indestructible fitness training equipment that can withstand high abuse and last a life-time. Plus, its effectiveness in delivering results and limited space required the cost of doing kettlebell training is far lower than investing in gym memberships or any exercise equipments
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