Train Smarter!

Train Smarter!

When trying to balance your training with work and family obligations, you may find yourself short on time.  But you figure, "something is better than nothing." So you need to train smart.  Knowing what you are training will help you to train efficiently.  So you should choose exercises wisely.  One example is the kettlebell lunge.

The 1 Arm Racked Kettlebell Lunge:

This exercise is obviously a leg exercise.  But that is not all!  You must hold the kettlebell in the racked position using one arm.  This places an asymmetric downward force on the kettlebell side of your trunk/body.  To prevent laterally "giving in" to the added weight, the opposite side of your trunk must contract to stabilize in order to maintain a neutral spine.  You must maintain grip on the kettlebell handle and not allow the shoulder blade on the side of the kettlebell to drop or protract due to the added weight either.  In all, you are training the legs, the trunk, grip and scapula stability.

Double Kettlebell Lunge:

Although you are lunging with added weight compared to the single kettlebell lunge, you do not have the asymmetric weight applied to the trunk.  So lateral stability will not be as much of an issue.  However, you must still maintain grip of each handle, prevent both scapula from protracting, and the added weight to your chest/trunk will actually make it slightly more difficult to deeply inhale during the set

To increase the challenge further, perform the Bottoms Up Kettlebell Lunge.  Here, you are working even harder to maintain control of the kettlebell handle using hand, wrist and forearm strength.  This also challenges scapula and shoulder stability on the kettlebell side, and the asymmetric weight will again require lateral trunk stability.  

So, if you want to get more bang for your buck, making slight adjustments to a traditional exercise will train more than you initially thought.  You end up training multiple regions of the body using one technique.  This is efficient training!