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“What is that weird looking thing with a handle on it… You want me to do WHAT with it?”  That was probably your first reaction to seeing a kettlebell, but once you get used to them you see how versatile and useful they are.  They can be used during workouts, warmups, mid-line focus, heck even during mobility!  It’s not hard to see why we use them often.

Before we go into depth on why we like kettlbells, a little background.  Kettlebells are flat-bottom cast iron balls with handles.  They were first used as a unit of measurement on market and farming scales and later in the Russian military for strength and conditioning work.  They are often measured in “pood” (no laughing!).  One pood is about 16 kilograms or 35 pounds.  Kettlebells are unique from other free weights like dumbbells and barbells because their center of mass is away from the handle.  This means kettlebell movements often require more coordination as well as recruitment of your stabilizer and primary muscles simultaneously.  This is especially true for the kettlebell swing, which is the foundation of kettlebell training.

Kettlebell training isn’t limited to swings though.  They are excellent for Olympic Lifting skill transfer exercises like cleans, jerks, and snatches as well as strength movements like farmers walks, presses, thrusters, and rows.

Here are ten benefits of kettlebell training:

• Enhances athleticism due to required coordination and balance
• Increases mental focus and physical stamina
• Improves proprioceptive breathing development
• Multi-joint total body conditioning compared to isolation exercises
• Total recruitment of posterior chain (calves, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors)
• Increases core stability and muscular endurance
• Develops body awareness and hip flexion/extension
• Improves grip strength
• Teaches you how to control weight eccentrically
• They are fun to use!

Although you can do much more than swings with them ,here are five basic checkpoints for in a kettlebell swing:

• Feet – shoulder-width apart and pointing no more than 10-15 degrees out
• Knees – tracking over toes, NOT caving inwards or driving way out
• Hips – level with your lumbar spine and neutral
• Shoulders – shoulderblades back and down (yes, I’m a broken record but there’s a reason!)
• Head – neutral position with chin tucked in

There aren’t many better tools that develop strength, teach you how to control your body through a large range of motion, build coordination, require mental focus, and are just plain fun to use!

 Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. August’s Athlete of the Month is Courtney Oddo.  Courtney was chosen because of her work ethic in the gym and how fast she has progressed because of it.  Over her short time at OPCF, we feel she is already a big part of our community.   Learn more below about Courtney!

1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

Each month Overland Park CrossFit recognizes a member who exemplifies our values and motivates others in the gym to push themselves with encouraging words. July’s Athlete of the Month is Tony Long.  Tony was chosen because of his awesome work ethic in the gym!  He shows up consistently, stays late to do accessory work, and all that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed!  Learn more below about Tony!

1. What were your thoughts after your first CrossFit workout?

Every now and then, we have people call and ask if we have a sauna.  Our typical answer is “Yes, it’s available May through August” ;).  As with many CrossFit gyms, at Overland Park CrossFit we only turn on the air conditioner when the temperature gets excessive for the safety of our members.  In saying that, there are still many days when it’s not quite hot enough for AC so you will most likely leave in a pool of sweat.  Due to everyone’s body regulating their temperatures differently, we want to go over a few things to look out for during this summer heat because elevated temperature and physical activity are the perfect mix for heatstroke, and ain’t nobody got time for that!

Nausea – You may feel sick to the stomach with an inclination to vomit.

Confusion – Heatstroke can cause confusion, slurred speech and even seizures.

Hot Skin – As your body temperature elevates, you skin may feel hot to the touch.

High Body Temperature – A body temperature of greater than 104F is one of the first signs of heatstroke.

Racing Heart Rate – As you continue to physically exert yourself, you heart rate can continue to rise to a very high level.

If you feel any of these, or just don’t feel right, the first thing to do is stop your physical activity and try to cool down.  If you continue to have symptoms, here are some additional things you can do to reduce the signs of heatstroke.

Use Evaporative Cooling – Stand near one of the fans while misting your body with water.  This will cause the water to evaporate, which will cool the skin.

Apply Ice Packs – If you are still having issues cooling your body, you can place ice packs on your body, specifically to your neck, back and armpits to help cool.

Go To The Hospital – If you continue to have issues, you should seek medical attention from a doctor.

As you should always do, try and keep yourself hydrated and be cautious if you have an elevated risk of heatstroke from a previously diagnosed medical condition or medication.  Heatstroke is very serious and can cause organ failure and even death.  If you are showing symptoms, don’t be a hero, listen to your body, try to cool yourself down and stop working out.

This post is meant for people who work out hard and train as athletes. This is not meant for the people who use the elliptical in the gym simply to burn calories. Proper post-workout nutrition can speed muscle recovery and increase performance in future workouts; and I’m not talking supplements.

There was a study done on post workout recovery nutrition with Marines in basic training. This study compared recruits that received 100 calories of post-exercise nutrition including 8 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein and 3 grams of fat to recruits that received a placebo. The recruits that received the post workout nutrition immediately after exercise had significantly less perceived muscle soreness, 33% less medical visits, 37% less muscle and joint related clinic visits, and 83% less medical visits for heat exhaustion, not to mention 28% less medical visits due to viruses and infection (Flakoll et al. 2004). Proper post workout nutrition can not only assist in recovery but also support the immune system.

An athlete has a window of about 30-45 minutes post workout to take advantage of optimal nutrient absorption for recovery. Specific post workout recovery needs are highly dependent on the workout that was done. Long cardio sessions need more carbohydrates to recover and weight lifting increases the need for post workout protein. So what does that mean for a person who does Crossfit? After a typical daily Crossfit workout that includes weight training and a WOD 100-250 calories should be sufficient. If you are doing longer workouts or multiple events you may adjust the amounts. The Zone ratio of macronutrients of 40/30/30 fits well for typical post workout needs.

For those people that are doing the nutrition challenge, this is where your personal goals are very relevant. If you are trying to lose weight, this post workout snack/meal would be one of the 5 meals on plan. If you are trying to increase strength/ performance, the decision would be up to you whether you want to add an extra snack into your day and increase your caloric intake or include your post workout as one of the 5 meals/snacks on plan. It does not take a lot of calories to achieve benefits post workout, the Marines in the study only had 100 calories post workout.

Post workout is one of the times where higher glycemic index foods can be very beneficial; one of the goals of post workout nutrition is to get easily digestible nutrients in the bloodstream quickly after the workout. Whole food examples of a post workout snack can include: a hardboiled egg and a piece of fruit, or a Greek yogurt, or even some banana and a small amount of peanut butter. If you like protein shakes, add a banana to your shake or drink it with a carbohydrate on the side.

Quick tip: If you choose to eat yogurt be very careful to read the nutritional facts on yogurt, many yogurts have a lot of added sugar or artificial sweeteners. One popular yogurt has 26 grams of sugar in a 6oz container.

Flakoll,P., T. Judy, K. Flinn, C. Carr, and S. Flinn. 2004. Postexercise protein supplementation improves health and muscle soreness during basic military training in Marine recruits. J Appl Physiol 96(3):951- 956; http://jap.physiology.org/content/96/3/951.