Kettlebell Squats
Most of us within the fitness industry agree on the importance of the squat and its many different variants. An exceptional mass building exercise for the Thighs and a great exercise to build power in the posterior chain. With the emergence of kettlebell exercises of the past 3 years or so, the traditional barbell behind the neck squat we all used to see is becoming rarer.
With kettlebells as your poison there tends to be 3 popular versions of squatting, all very different and offer a different resistance on the Quads, Glutes and Hamstrings.
The most popular squat is undoubtedly the Kettlebell Hindu Squat, to perform this movement the athlete is simply required to get the kettlebells into a racked position as if they are performing the kettlebell clean.
Another popular version of this exercise is the Goblet Squat, to perform this movement the athlete is required to hold a kettlebell by the handles in front of them at chest height. At the bottom of the movement they are then required to allow the elbows to push the thights outwards before returning upwards.
The next version of Kettlebell Squat, which is certainly not for the feint hearted is the Kettlebell single leg squat. To perform this movement an athlete is required to hold a kettlebell in each hand, take one foot off the floor and then perform squats one leg at a time in an alternating fashion.
As with all squatting movements, a massive Oxygen debt is caused using any of the three kettlebell exercises described above. Due to the difficulty of the movement a massive release in human growth hormone is also associated with squats; with some studies showing up to a 450% increase in Human Growth Hormone in the 24 hours following a training session.
Such a huge increase in human growth hormone helps to stimulate testosterone production which in turn speeds up muscle recovery whilst encouraging muscle growth. The squat is a truly irreplaceable exercise and attempts to do so with the various leg pressing machines on offer in Gyms never quite gets the muscularity up to a standard in your thighs that true free weight squatting does.
One thing cannot be underestimated when even thinking of not including some version of the squat in your leg training sessions, and this is the benefits to the posterior chain. Nothing will build raw power in the posterior chain like the squat and it is this power which can be harnessed for many of your other compound movements in the gym such as the clean, clean and jerk, dead lift and so on.
With kettlebells as your poison there tends to be 3 popular versions of squatting, all very different and offer a different resistance on the Quads, Glutes and Hamstrings.
The most popular squat is undoubtedly the Kettlebell Hindu Squat, to perform this movement the athlete is simply required to get the kettlebells into a racked position as if they are performing the kettlebell clean.
Another popular version of this exercise is the Goblet Squat, to perform this movement the athlete is required to hold a kettlebell by the handles in front of them at chest height. At the bottom of the movement they are then required to allow the elbows to push the thights outwards before returning upwards.
The next version of Kettlebell Squat, which is certainly not for the feint hearted is the Kettlebell single leg squat. To perform this movement an athlete is required to hold a kettlebell in each hand, take one foot off the floor and then perform squats one leg at a time in an alternating fashion.
As with all squatting movements, a massive Oxygen debt is caused using any of the three kettlebell exercises described above. Due to the difficulty of the movement a massive release in human growth hormone is also associated with squats; with some studies showing up to a 450% increase in Human Growth Hormone in the 24 hours following a training session.
Such a huge increase in human growth hormone helps to stimulate testosterone production which in turn speeds up muscle recovery whilst encouraging muscle growth. The squat is a truly irreplaceable exercise and attempts to do so with the various leg pressing machines on offer in Gyms never quite gets the muscularity up to a standard in your thighs that true free weight squatting does.
One thing cannot be underestimated when even thinking of not including some version of the squat in your leg training sessions, and this is the benefits to the posterior chain. Nothing will build raw power in the posterior chain like the squat and it is this power which can be harnessed for many of your other compound movements in the gym such as the clean, clean and jerk, dead lift and so on.
