Single Kettlebell Video Technique Course:
https://salutis.kartra.com/page/BIG-6-w-bonusDouble Kettlebell Video Technique Course:
https://salutis.kartra.com/page/strong-tsSystematic Core Training For Kettlebells
https://salutis.kartra.com/page/systematic-core-trainingFrom 30+ years of experience, I can tell you definitively, if you have lower back “pain” or stiffness, tightness, soreness – or however you choose to describe it…
From hoisting your kettlebells, then one or more of these three things are causing it:
[1] A Pre-existing Condition
[2] Poor technique
Here’s a video course for the single KB techniques. And here’s one for the double KB techniques – if you need them.)
https://salutis.kartra.com/page/BIG-6-w-bonus https://salutis.kartra.com/page/strong-ts[3] A Weak Core
You have at least 2 “cores.”
It’s not just your “6-pack.”
When your deep abdominal musculature – your “Inner Unit” / “Deep Core” – isn’t working correctly, your body’s stabilization system malfunctions.
That means it can’t effectively center joints correctly so that your muscles can work the way they’re designed to work.
So, you get what are called “movement compensations” – or faulty movement patterns.
These movement compensations create muscle imbalances, which then cause stiffness, tightness, and soreness in both your muscles, and the joints which they surround.
A common scenario with lower back issues is what’s called “anterior pelvic tilt.”
Think of the pelvis (your hips) as a bucket.
The front of the bucket (where your navel is) tips forward and the back (where your sacrum is) rises.
In many cases, because the Deep Core isn’t working, the body tightens up the hip flexors, which is what makes the bucket tip forward and keeps the bucket tipped forward.
As a result, the muscles that run up and down your back, become short and tight – producing that tightness along your beltline.
It also explains why you may experience short-term relief from stretching your back.
But all you’re doing there is taking care of the symptoms. However, you’re not addressing the root cause.
Now sure, you can stretch your hip flexors. And that will read more lengthen them momentarily so that the front of the bucket is level.
But once again, stretching your hip flexors is just addressing the symptoms.
What you need to do is take care or reengage and retrain the muscles of the deep core.
These muscles include your transverse abdominis, your pelvic floor, your diaphragm, your multifidus, and depending on who you ask, your internal obliques
The simplest way to get started is with diaphragmatic breathing. It is the foundation of your core function.
According to famed Swiss physician and rehabilitation pioneer, Dr. Karel Lewit*, if your breathing mechanics are faulty, then the rest of your movement mechanics are faulty as well.
Again, restoring core function is so critical to health, strength, and longevity, as I mentioned earlier this is where we are starting our workshop attendees on Saturday. It’s THAT important.
Here are some other areas of your body that are directly impacted by negative breathing mechanics**, a.k.a. They get / remain stiff, sore, and tight:⁃ Your neck
⁃ Your shoulders
⁃ Your spine
⁃ Your hips
⁃ Your knees
⁃ Your ankles
⁃ Your elbows
And yeah, I understand that may sound far-fetched
But remember, the body works as an integrated unit.
(**I’ll leave links to the research validating breathing and its correlation to musculoskeletal dysfunction below.)
Now, that’s just breathing. It’s your foundation.
We still have to build or restore the rest of the house.
That not only means using specialized exercises to train the deep core, but also specialized exercises to train the outer unit – the core you can see.
But you can’t just train these willy-nilly going by feel. You need to train them systematically using a progressive step-by-step approach.
You need to pass checkpoints, so you build both strength and endurance before you move from one exercise to the next - from easier to more advanced
Get these wrong or in the wrong order, and you can be spinning your wheels for months, even years, never going anywhere, but feeling like you’re moving.
Get these wrong or in the wrong order, and worst case scenario, you can end up injuring yourself worse
That’s why I found training in the following order will give you the fastest and strongest progress:Stability → Strength → Power
I call it the “SSP Model.”
And I outlined it in great detail, including step-by-step written and video instructions in Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells
RESEARCHLewit K. Relation of faulty respiration to posture, with clinical implications. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 1980 Apr;79(8):525-529. PMID: 7364597.
** Faulty Breathing Mechanics and Musculoskeletal Dysfunction
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O7Flf_46g1XktHvVVHn4meVJbunjVmeJ7yGJPP_9QF4/edit?tab=t.0