What is Kettlebell Flow? Your Guide to This Dynamic Form of Exercise

If continuous, repetitive exercises like those on a treadmill or biking bore you, keep reading. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular health, you can do so by lifting heavier weights for more reps. This will also help you to condition your body to be able to handle more weight in the future. Your cardio workout does not have to be the traditional type, but it does need to be effective. Kettlebell flows have some benefits that will leave you a stronger, better conditioned, and more versatile athlete.

The design of the kettlebell allows you to do many explosive moves, which makes it perfect for creating your own sequences. Even though kettlebell flows may appear to be simple, they are actually quite hardcore.

What Is a Kettlebell Flow?

You take one lift and perform it consecutively with two or three (or more) exercises without putting the implement down. An example of a kettlebell movement flowing into another kettlebell movement would be a one-handed kettlebell swing followed by a snatch, which would then be followed by an overhead squat. After that, it will come back to the center so that you can reverse hands and do it again. You maintain continuous motion and don't set the kettlebell down.

A four-move kettlebell flow would be a single-arm kettlebell swing followed by a clean, a front squat, and an overhead press. A three-move kettlebell flow could be a double kettlebell deadlift to a clean to a snatch, with each movement equaling one rep. The second flow would generally be considered more complex, even though it has fewer moves. The kettlebell snatch is a two-handed movement that starts with the kettlebells on the ground. This movement is more challenging because it uses two kettlebells rather than one and because it is a snatch movement.

Why Perform a Kettlebell Flow

If you want to improve your cardiovascular health, muscle endurance, or overall strength, kettlebell flows are a great option. You will complete several exercises in just one repetition, which will help you get the most value for your time.

Don’t love the treadmill? No problem. Since you will be repeating the exercises without pausing or putting the kettlebell down, kettlebell flows will increase your cardiovascular system. Want to be able to lift heavier weights? Kettlebell flows are a great way to force yourself to perfect your form, as they require a lot of physical strength and tension. This means that when you come back to the barbell, you won’t have to waste any time getting back into position — and therefore you’ll be able to lift more weight.

As you add kettlebell flows to your routine, your grip strength will also increase. Since you’ll never put the bell down between complex transitions and lifts, your grip will get stronger from all the holding. And yes, that translates into more powerful deadlifts.

How to Do a Kettlebell Flow

There are many elements to kettlebell flows and it takes dedication to learn them all. It is well worth the effort to take the time to learn how to do them. To simplify the process, break it down into a few steps.

Step 1: Learn Your Moves

First things first: know your kettlebell moves. You should not try to do a kettlebell flow until you can do each part of it perfectly. Never quite got the hang of single-arm kettlebell swings? Master them before trying a complex that includes them.

It is especially important to be cautious when performing kettlebell flows, because just one repetition of the flow is very strenuous. When you are working out at a high intensity, your heart rate will be increased and your whole body will be active, so it is easy to lose good form. This is especially true when you are doing a complex movement like a snatch or thruster within a set.

Step 2: Design Your Flow

The moves should flow smoothly into each other. An example of this would be programming a deadlift before a high pull. This works well mechanically as the weight is lifted from the floor and in a straight line up to face level. A kettlebell swing followed by an upright row is a technically sound move, but keep in mind that a lot of momentum is needed to stop the swing and your back may not appreciate the move. The kettlebell swing might work better as a deadstop kettlebell swing into a row. It will be challenging but will cause less physical strain.

When creating a routine, it is important to consider the individual movements you want to perform and then order them in a way that makes sense.

Step 3: Practice With Your Body

After you have learned the basic moves and are using a light weight, set yourself up for the flow without a kettlebell in hand. You might feel silly, but start practicing the movement with just your body weight first. If you do a short warm-up before working out, it will be easier to do the exercises and your body will be better prepared for the moves you are going to do.

Step 4: Select Your Weight

You should always select a weight that is much lighter than what you think you will need. You will always need to use some brainpower to teach your body how to do a sequence of movements smoothly.

As you improve and become more skilled, you will be thankful for a lower weight. When you are lifting weights in a flow, the weight you can lift is limited by the lightest lift in the flow. For example, if you can front squat a heavy weight, but the flow includes an overhead press, you need to take the overhead press into account when choosing the weight.

Step 5: Get To Work

Once you’ve done a few repetitions without any weight, increase the difficulty like you would do with barbells. Use a light kettlebell to flow through two or three repetitions. Choose a weight that is comfortable for you to lift. Otherwise, rest, select the next weight up, and continue.

A kettlebell flow is a type of exercise that involves using a kettlebell to do a series of movements in a continuous, fluid motion. Just perform each move in turn. The flow here is a single-arm kettlebell deadlift into row into clean and press. First set yourself up for a single-arm kettlebell deadlift. Perform that lift. To perform a single-arm kettlebell row, begin by locking out your hips, then immediately hinge your body to set yourself up.

After you have completed the first movement, change your position so you can perform a clean press. All of that constitutes one rep. After deadlifting the kettlebell, return it to the starting position on the ground. Be sure to keep both sides even.

Who Should Perform Kettlebell Flows

Short answer: everyone who physically is able. Long answer: everybody who physically is able. Longer answer: keep reading.

Powerlifters

While powerlifters may rely mainly on barbells, kettlebells can still be beneficial to them. If you want to improve your big lifts, kettlebell training can help by evening out muscle asymmetries. No one wants one arm to do more work than the other while bench pressing.

Plus, kettlebell flows will make you a more well-conditioned athlete. While weightlifting can help improve your strength, it will also help improve your cardiovascular capacity. Kettlebell flows can help you avoid collapsing after performing a lot of reps per set during your hypertrophy blocks with barbells. If you've ever done 20-rep squats, you know how difficult they can be.

Bodybuilders

If you're a bodybuilder, you'll be pleased to know that your program can help you build strength and change your body composition at the same time, by incorporating kettlebell flows. Flows that include multiple moves are more demanding than those that involve just one move. That’s because you’re moving without pause between different moves. You will improve your muscular endurance, conditioning, and strength all at the same time. This is definitely a good thing for bodybuilders.

Olympic Lifters

Olympic lifters need to have a lot of explosive power to be successful in their training. Olympic-style lifts are very physically demanding, especially when you are trying to lift heavy weights. Kettlebell flows are effective because they are explosive but do not put strain on the joints. Additionally, the weights generally will not be very heavy, allowing you to improve your power, coordination, and mobility without over taxing your body.

Functional Fitness Athletes

Some more good news about kettlebell flows? They’re about as functional as they come. Life doesn’t really happen in singular, discrete movements. You probably pick up the grocery bags and then stop. You have to lift them up eventually to put things on high shelves and so on.

Kettlebell flows improve your body's and mind's ability to handle constant changes smoothly. Deliberately performing fluid movements under a consistent load will help improve your ability to carry a backpack up a flight of stairs or your CrossFit WOD this weekend.

How to Program Kettlebell Flows

There are many ways to program with kettlebells just as there are many ways to lift with them. You can integrate kettlebell flows into your workouts, depending on your goals and what sort of training protocol you're currently following.

For Your Major Lifts

If you're into kettlebells, you might want to plan a training session where kettlebell flows are the main focus. If that is the case, you will want to be very careful to ensure that your flows are balanced. To maximize the amount of weight you can lift, make sure that some exercises only focus on the lower body so that you can safely lift heavier bells. In order to maintain balance, you should include rows, deadlifts, high pulls, and other pulling movements in your routine, in addition to the overhead pressing you will most likely do.

It's okay to keep your repetitions low. Two or three reps are respectable. Doing five reps of a complex flow that contains a lot of moves is extremely high. Remember that five repetitions of a four-move kettlebell routine equals 20 repetitions of individual exercises.

For a Warm-Up

If using barbells is still your main form of movement, try adding light kettlebell flows to the end of your dynamic warm-up. A workout that is focused on the upper body would benefit from a flow that has a lot of upper body pulling and pressing movements, such as high pulls, cleans, and presses. Do some lower body-intensive flows as a warm-up for your lower body workout.

For a Finisher

Kettlebell flows can also be used at the end of your workout as a finisher. You can make the weights a bit heavier here since you don’t have to worry about exhausting yourself before the day’s major lifts.

Choose exercises that target the muscles you want to work on and put them towards the end of your routine after you’ve already done a lot of other exercises. This will help to fatigue those muscles so that you can get the most out of your workout.

For Active Recovery

If you've got an active recovery day and you're not sure what to do with it, consider doing some light activity to help your muscles recover. You do now. Kettlebell flows involving light to moderate weights can help keep your joints lubricated without putting too much pressure on them. If you're focusing on momentum-based kettlebell movements in your workout routine, your muscles will probably appreciate the chance to work on endurance and mobility without much pressure.

Benefits of Kettlebell Workouts

If you are not certain about what precisely working out with kettlebells can provide for you, here is a basic explanation of the benefits.

Good Form

Kettlebell training works muscles and increases strength in the same way as other types of resistance training, but it is especially successful in developing body awareness and movement skills. These benefits will be seen in any other athletic activity.

The reason why lies in the kettlebell’s design. The weight of the bell is displaced six to eight inches from the handle, making it harder to control than other training devices. When you are working out, it is important to maintain good form in order to perform the exercises correctly. Your body will need to use more muscles to do the workout correctly.

Imagine a kettlebell overhead press. Since the weight hangs from the handle at a distance, your arm will be tempted to drift backward when you press. In order to press the weight straight up, you need to focus on using your shoulder muscles to their full potential. This not only strengthens your shoulders, but also improves your ability to press weights overhead.

Most kettlebell exercises expose your weaknesses right away. If you feel your lower back hyperextending and your ribs flaring while you press, you know you have to work on keeping your core tight. You may also need extra shoulder and T-spine mobility training. Many people will do barbell back squats and allow their chests to fall forward, their knees to cave inward, and their heels to come off the floor, which can lead to injury. When you squat with a kettlebell, it is easy to see and feel if you are doing the exercise correctly or not.

Core and Grip Strength

The kettlebell's design ensures that any exercise you do with it will work your core muscles, as your core must engage to keep your body from being pulled off balance. The handle of the kettlebell is less smooth and not as good as a dumbbell, which means that your grip and forearm muscles will have to work harder – so kettlebells are great for building up a strong grip and the ability to hold on tight.

Improved Athleticism

There are very few isolation exercises that you can perform with a kettlebell (such as biceps curls, leg extensions, etc.). Most movements you’ll do will train your whole body at once, teaching it to work together as a unit – the way it does when playing a sport. Kettlebells are particularly good for developing power in explosive movements like swings and cleans, which are key for jumping and running. Kettlebells offer a unique chance to train your body in multiple planes of motion, sometimes all at once. This type of training prepares you for the sudden changes of direction and mechanics you'll encounter in many sports. You can put exercises together in a kettlebell flow to practice being explosive and strong in all directions. This is something you cannot do with barbells and dumbbells.

Recent research is beginning to support what kettlebell coaches have known for years. Kettlebell training appeared to be safe and effective for boosting functional strength and power in a review of five studies. In addition, it may improve postural control. In another study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, it was shown that a kettlebell workout can burn more calories than a sprint cycling session. This makes it a more desirable and sustainable cardio option for many people.

A study conducted by the American Council on Exercise put a group of people who were already in good shape and had experience with strength-training on an eight-week kettlebell program. Not only did they gain muscle strength, but they also improved aerobic capacity and dynamic balance. In summary, lead researcher John Porcari said that you don't usually expect to improve your aerobic capacity by doing resistance training, but kettlebells give you a lot of different benefits in one intense workout.

Efficient Training

Even though you might need multiple pairs of dumbbells to give yourself a full-body workout, you can manage with only a few different weight levels if you use kettlebells. The workout we're suggesting only needs a single kettlebell. One weight gives you access to a library of exercises, says John Wolf, Onnit’s Chief Fitness Officer. I have always said that if you have a single kettlebell in your room, you have all you need for a gym.

What Muscles Do Kettlebells Work?

Kettlebell training is effective because it works all the body's muscles. You don't need to focus on working one muscle more than another, because a well-balanced kettlebell workout will work them all equally. Kettlebell training works the core and grip muscles more than other types of workouts, so you can be sure your abs and forearm muscles will get stimulated no matter what exercises you perform.

Full-body kettlebell workouts should always incorporate some squatting, hip-hinging, pressing, rowing, and rotational movements. The workout provided below includes all of these movements. You will train every big muscle in your body. I will explain what movements each muscle group trains one at a time.