This One-Arm Kettlebell Flow Will Build Up Your Back
If there’s one area of their physique that guys neglect most, it’s the back.
The muscle group is hard to see, so it’s easy to forget. Since the back doesn’t face the front (obviously), it's not considered as cool as big pecs or big arms, so you don’t prioritize it like you should—and the result is poor posture and limited strength potential. But you can start bringing up your back in just a few minutes by using targeted kettlebell flows.
Flows are mini-circuits of exercises that work together, such as a front squat to a press, or a burpee into a pushup. One movement flows into the next so seamlessly you don’t even have to put the weight down until the end of your set.
This flow from Eric Leija (a.k.a. Primal Swoldier), creator of the Men’s Health Kettlehell program, uses three of the best back exercises—the deadlift, clean, and snatch—and requires only one kettlebell to complete.
“It’s perfect for building a big, strong, functional back,” says Leija. “It will also work your glutes, hamstrings, arms, and core, so, while I think of it as a back attack, it’s really a full-body workout.”
Deadlift To Clean To Snatch
Step 1. Place a light kettlebell on the floor and stand behind it with feet shoulder-width apart. Twist your feet into the ground so that they’re turned a few degrees outward, and you feel your glutes tighten up. Maintaining a tall, long spine from your head to your pelvis, bend your hips back—and your knees as needed—until you can grasp the kettlebell handle.
Step 2. Keeping your lower back flat, squeeze your glutes and push through your heels as you extend your hips to stand up tall, pulling the kettlebell off the floor and in front of your hips. Try to keep your shoulders level to the floor as you rise.
Step 3. Reverse the motion to lower the weight back down, and then explosively stand up again, using the momentum to pull the kettlebell up and back toward your side. When you feel it rise to chest level, drive your elbow forward and under the weight so that you catch it at shoulder level. Allow the kettlebell to spin around your wrist so that it doesn’t flop over and smack your forearm.
Step 4. Reverse the motion to return the kettlebell to the floor again, and then explode upward one last time, raising the weight overhead as you rise until you lock it out. Again, let the handle spin around your wrist, not flop over it. Lower the weight to your shoulder and then the floor. Switch hands, and repeat the entire sequence on the opposite side. That’s one rep.
Perform 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps on each side, resting up to 2 minutes between sets. Do this flow at the end of your back workout, or on a separate day for extra work.
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