Free weights have the unique ability to harness multiple muscles together, resulting in increased strength and power throughout the body. Free weights such as kettlebells and dumbbells require precision, timing, and to some degree, momentum to accomplish challenging movements. There is also the advantage that free weight exercises can all be done at home, circumventing the need for a gym membership.
The Kettlebell Figure-Eight is a strength builder, primarily of the trunk and hips, but it challenges your whole body. Strength, coordination, timing, and accuracy are required to perform this exercise correctly. The Kettlebell Figure-Eight is slow-paced and is performed for longer amounts of time than most exercises—in doing so it helps to develop your “slow strength” and muscular endurance rather than explosive power or speed.
Step 1 Begin with a kettlebell in hand, legs in a wide stance with your glutes out, bent over and with a flat back.
Step 2 Start by passing the kettlebell from one hand to another between the legs.
Step 3 Reach from behind the leg with the receiving hand and switch the kettlebell.
Step 4 Make 20 passes between the hands, in and out of your legs.
Step 5 After completing 20 passes, switch directions. Instead of switching hands, swing the kettlebell back out with the same hand and back in front of the same leg it just circled around.
Step 6 Perform another 20 passes.
CORRECT ACTION
•Look for slow and controlled repetitions
•Keep your back flat throughout the movement
•Move your hips side to side during the movement
AVOID
•Excessive speed
•Bouncy repetitions
•Shallow or incomplete passes
The Turkish Get-Up is a highly functional movement that requires all the muscles of the body working together in order to perform the exercise properly. It produces great stability in the hips and balance throughout the body. Its center of focus is the core from which all movement begins.
WARNING Not advisable if you have wrist pain, shoulder issues, or lower-back pain.
Step 1 Begin on your back on the ground with one arm raised straight out above your chest holding a dumbbell or kettlebell, and the other at your side.
Step 2 Flex the same sided knee with that foot flat on the floor while supporting your weight on the opposite elbow.
Step 3 Tuck the opposite leg underneath your body.
Step 4 Rise up with the same outstretched arm over your head.
Step 5 Return to the start and perform 10 repetitions per side.
CORRECT ACTION
•A tight core throughout
•Keep your eyes on the dumbbell
•Take your time
AVOID
•Excessive speed
•Not shifting your hips
•Not using your core
An important role of your midsection is stabilization. This exercise tests your ability to maintain muscular tension through the midsection while maintaining correct form. Once you become accomplished at this suprisingly challenging exercise, you can perform it moving the ab roller to the sides in a diagonal fashion as opposed to straight forward. This version places more emphasis on the obliques. You can also place a barbell plate on your back to add to the difficulty.
WARNING Not advisable if you have wrist pain, shoulder issues, or lower-back pain.
Step 1 Start by kneeling on the floor, gripping the handles of an ab roller with both hands.
Step 2 Slowly roll the wheel out, keeping your back straight.
Step 3 Roll out as far as you can, maintaining control—ideally until you are completely straight.
Step 4 Pull the wheel back, tensing your abdominals, until you are back to the start position.
Step 5 Repeat until failure.
CORRECT ACTION
•Keep your head down
•Tuck your chin in as you roll out
•Keep your spine straight
AVOID
•Arching your back
Sit-Ups train your core muscles to help you achieve better flexibility and balance, and to improve overall body strength. They help build the muscles in your abdominals, lower back, and hip flexors. Adding dumbbells increases the intensity level of the move, creating weight resistance and adding an arm-workout element. You can increase the weight of the dumbbells as you become proficient in the exercise.
WARNING Not advisable if you have lower-back pain.
Step 1 Start by lying on the floor with your knees slightly bent, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Step 2 Contract your abdominals as you raise your torso into a sit-up position, keeping the dumbbells at shoulder level.
Step 3 Lower yourself slowly back to the floor—the slower the movement, the more effective the exercise.
Step 4 Repeat until failure.
CORRECT ACTION
•A smooth range of motion
•Keep the dumbbells at shoulder level
•Slow movement
AVOID
•Stressing your lower back
You should learn how to clean with a set of very light kettlebells. Keep your arms loose with just enough tension to perform the exercise. However, your body should be locked tight and braced. Using a lighter pair of kettlebells will allow you to put all your focus on the swing and redirection, rather than on just getting the kettlebells into place. You can also add a press to the movement, raising the kettlebells above your head at the end of the motion.
WARNING Not advisable if you have wrist pain or shoulder issues.
Step 1 Start in a squat position, with a kettlebell in each hand. The midpoint of the handles should be aligned with the midpoint of your feet.
Step 2 Internally rotate the arms as you reach down so that when you hold the handles your thumbs are pointing back behind your legs.
Step 3 Tense your abdominals, drive your feet into the floor, and thrust your hips forward to create the momentum required to clean the kettlebells up into the rack position.
Step 4 Once the kettlebells are in motion, loosen your grip to allow the kettlebell to wrap around your forearm as it slides into position.
Step 5 Repeat 15 times.
CORRECT ACTION
•Keep your eyes forward to help keep your body squared and back straight
•Your neck is elongated
•Use tight, controlled exhalation
AVOID
•Letting the kettlebells hit your forearms
This exercise can be performed with either dumbbells or a barbell. It needs to be treated with the utmost respect: pay special attention to make sure you do not round your back as you move the torso down; the back must always be straight. A jerking action—or using too much weight—can injure your back.
WARNING Not advisable if you have lower-back pain.
Step 1 Holding a pair of dumbbells loosely against your outer thighs, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your rear pushed out slightly.
Step 2 Maintaining a flat back at all times, bring the dumbbells around in front of you and lower them toward the floor, feeling the main stretch in the back of the legs.
Step 3 Return to the starting position and complete three sets of 15 repetitions.
CORRECT ACTION
•Keep your back flat at all times
AVOID
•Straining your lower back excessively
Breathing is very important to this exercise: exhale as you twist your upper body to one side, allowing the barbell to follow. Stop when you feel your oblique muscles stretching. Inhale as you return your upper body to the starting position in a slow, controlled manner. The version shown here is the easiest version; it can, of course, be made more difficult by adding weights to the barbell.
WARNING Not advisable if you have lower-back pain.
Step 1 Start by sitting on a flat bench, with a barbell placed on your shoulders.
Step 2 Grip the bar with your palms facing forward and make sure your hands are wider than shoulder-width apart.
Step 3 While keeping your feet and head still, move your waist from side to side so that your oblique muscles feel a contraction.
CORRECT ACTION
•Breathe out while you twist
•Keep your head straight and your feet still
AVOID
•Twisting more than your waist will allow
Use a barbell plate and rotate side to side to fire your core muscles. When you perform this motion standing, it becomes a functional exercise, which tends to burn more fat and allows everyday activities to become simpler.
WARNING Not advisable if you have wrist pain or lower-back pain.
Step 1 Start by standing in an upright position.
Step 2 Hold a weighted plate in front of your chest, with your arms slightly bent.
Step 3 Keep your feet still and rotate your torso from the waist.
Step 4 Swivel your torso back all the way around to the other side.
Step 5 Repeat 30 times.
CORRECT ACTION
•Compress your abdomen
•Keep your back straight
AVOID
•Twisting more than your waist will allow
The Seated Dumbbell Press is one of the most popular muscle builders for the shoulders. It can be performed on an adjustable-angle bench with the back set to 90 degrees. But for added difficulty, and also to work your abs, sit on a Swiss ball instead.
WARNING Not advisable if you have lower-back pain.
Step 1 Sit on a Swiss ball, holding a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height.
Step 2 Keeping your eyes facing forward, slowly raise the dumbbell in your left hand above your head until your arm is almost fully extended.
Step 3 Do not pause at the top of the movement, and immediately begin lowering the dumbbell back down to the starting position.
Step 4 Repeat this movement immediately with your right arm.
Step 5 Repeat 30 times.
CORRECT ACTION
•Use the longest range of motion possible
•Control the dumbbells throughout the movement
AVOID
•Adding too much weight too soon
With this exercise it is important to remember that if you do not squat deep enough (thighs parallel with the floor), then you are not engaging your glutes properly. Shallow squatting will only work your quads (thigh muscles) and not the largest muscles in the body.
WARNING Not advisable if you have lower-back pain.
Step 1 Stand upright, holding a kettlebell in each hand.
Step 2 Start the movement by pushing the hips backward.
Step 3 Squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
Step 4 Push the floor away from you on your way up.
Step 5 Repeat 15 times.
CORRECT ACTION
•Keep the weight on your heels and outside of the feet
•Your neck is elongated
•Your thighs should be at least parallel with the floor
•Breathe in as you descend, breathe out as you ascend
AVOID
•Bending your back
