“Why Should I Do Core Work If I’m Already Doing Kettlebells?”

👉 Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells

I think that’s a really smart and fair question.

Especially since most people think kettlebells “work the core.”

The Truth “It depends on the individual”....

I’ve seen people “fix their issues” from kettlebell training.

And unfortunately, I’ve seen people get injured using kettlebells.

So, my answer is, I don’t know if you should or not.

But I can give you some guidance.

Here are some reasons you should do direct and systematic core work even if you’re using kettlebells:

1- Your lower back hurts, gets sore, or gets tight after using KBs.

This could be an indication that your deep core musculature is not working properly to stabilize your spine and pelvis and your lower back is overworking.

As a result, your hips and hamstrings are not fully doing their jobs - moving your kettlebell!

Either that or your technique is just bad.

Or the first is causing the second.

2- Your knees hurt during or after using your KBs. Or both.

Same thing here.

Unless of course you’ve gone to your doc and he’s said you have osteoarthritis, are bone-on-bone, and you’re staring down the barrel of a total knee replacement.

And that’s because the knee is “trapped” between both the hip and the foot.

It’s like the middle child stuck between his little brother and big sister in the back seat of the car. His big sister reaches across him to hit the little brother, misses, and hits the kid in the middle.

Many times, your body’s innate stabilization mechanism is “offline.”

So the hip doesn’t work properly. It can’t fully internally and externally rotate or move into extension.

As a result, your body rotates or “ducks” your foot / feet, your arch or arches start(s) to collapse, and your knee or knees take the brunt.

This is only exacerbated by loading like Swings and Squats.

I know, I suffered from 25 years of chronic bilateral knee pain - from early teens to my late 30s.

Once I started focusing on reflexive core stability work, followed up by specific strength work, it disappeared.

3- You had some kind of abdominal, lower back, hip, or knee surgery…

… And no follow up rehab.

And if you’re a woman reading this, yes, a C-Section counts.

And that’s because for whatever reason, when you have surgery on your abdominals, the lower back, hip, or knees, your body “shuts down” or “unplugs” its internal stabilization system.

So you need to “reboot” your body’s stabilization mechanism.

Failing to address this, and then loading the lower back, hips, knees, or even shoulders with KB training can lead to injury.

4- You’re trying to lose fat by using kettlebells, but you're not losing fat…

Ok, this is a weird one, so hear me out.

Working out is a stressor on your body

You have 2 types of stress - DIS-stress and EU-stress

Fighting off an infection is a distress

Laughing at a movie is an eustress

Working out is a distress that becomes an eustress, when the right conditions exist

If you’ve met any or all of conditions 1 thru 3 above, using kettlebells increases stress - distress - on your spine. Your spine houses your spinal cord, which is part of your CNS - your Central Nervous System

Your CNS controls your entire body - both consciously and subconsciously

If you’re unduly stressing the spinal column, this increases what’s known as a “threat response,” which amps up your sympathetic nervous system (SNS)

And keeps it amped up

Your SNS is responsible for the “fight or flight” response - the adrenaline dump you get when you almost rear end the car in front of you - but don’t. Or you’re being chased by a bear

Your body also mobilizes cortisol for quick energy.

Many people are in a chronic “fight or flight” state, so their cortisol levels are always elevated above normal. And as we’ve discussed many times in the past

Chronically elevated cortisol levels signal fat storage in your midsection - the heart attack inducing stomach / visceral fat

I know that may sound hard to believe, so here’s a story about a private client

Karen was a 47-year old perimenopausal cancer survivor. She hired me to train her to pass her SFG 2 Certification

Problem was, she had chronic right shoulder instability from having one of her neck muscles removed as part of cancer treatment

So, she and I stopped pressing, and focused on rebuilding / restoring her reflexive core stability for a whole month

The results?

She dropped about 15 pounds of fat and her Press increased

So there are 4 great reasons - kinda like the North, South, East, and West of reasons - of why you’d want to start doing direct and systematic core work, if you’ve only been relying on your kettlebells for “core training”

Check out my program Systematic Core Training For Kettlebells if you have one or more of those issues

Let’s get you squared away and make your kettlebell training even more productive.