Russian Kettlebells, Physical Education, Back Strength and Injuries
Posted on | March 1, 2009 | 7 Comments
My daughter asked for my help with her Physical Education homework (hey, I was shocked as well… PE homework!?). The task consisted of giving a parent a standard fitness test and then analyze the results.
My results were superb (I’m way above suggested fitness level of a 15 year old boy). In addition to giving yet another boost to my self esteem, the test got me thinking about the adequacy of Physical Education and such fitness tests.
Here is what I had to endure:
- Sit and Reach (aka Flexibility Test)
- Sit Up test (aka Core test)
- Push Up test (aka Upper Body Strength and Endurance test)
Sounds nice, right?
After all, we test all the important aspects of fitness: flexibility, core and upper body strength and endurance. There is something missing in the list.
Back strength!
I know, I know.. I may sound like a crazy old man but back strength is critical to our health and not enough time is spent educating, testing and developing back strength.
“You shouldn’t be lifting that”, “It’s too heavy for you”, “stop it, you going to hurt your back”, mothers around the world scream in unison. From the very beginning we believe (most of us, anyway. I was kind of a ‘thick’ child when it came to lifting things and never listened to my mother) that our backs are as fragile as peace in Middle East.
Our Physical Ed teachers are not helping either. You are considered strong if you can press much weight above your head, bench press a lot (or do a bazillion push-ups) or climb a rope well, although most schools can’t even afford a rope these days. So we are stuck with push-ups/bench presses, crunches and touching toes.
As we go through college, we repeat same mantras that our school teachers, magazine workouts and ‘buff’ friends told us. Bench press, leg press (occasionally), pull-ups, lots of bicep curls (if you are a guy) and hours of treadmill walking/running if you a girl.
As a result of such disjointed exercises, back muscles are engaged only partially at best. Back muscles become the weak link, making it difficult to walk, sit or stand for very long without discomfort and pain.
Those who are considered ’strong’, suffer even more and are prone to more back injuries.
Why?
They believe that they are strong and thus far more likely to lift something heavy. Since lifting a heavy object (be it a couch, mattress, or a pony) heavily involves back muscles (even if you ‘lift with your legs’) these ’strong man’ break in half from pain.
If I had a dollar for every time a ‘buff’ guy came to me with a complaint that when he walks around a mall with his girlfriend his back is killing him, I could pay for college for both of my kids with that money.
As a result of such misguided effort, back pain is more common than ever.
Strong back muscles are critical to our health, vitality, function and quality of life. Those muscles are responsible not only for bending and flexing of the spine but also for spinal stabilization and support.
How to reclaim back strength:
- Start Russian Kettlebell training
- Do yoga and pilates
- Do deadlifts and squats
- Walk and hike regularly
- Stop going to the gym and enjoy more natural movements
Russian kettlebells are very effective at creating a bullet proof back.
Without getting in further details, training with kettlebells involves much bending, directly engaging lower, mid and upper back muscles. Through out an average training session, kettlebell lifters do 400-600 bends without realizing it.
How did kettlebells help you with your back strength? What back problems did it address and solve?
What’s next?
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Tags: back strength > education > functional training > kettlebell training
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7 Responses to “Russian Kettlebells, Physical Education, Back Strength and Injuries”
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March 2nd, 2009 @ 9:36 pm
I’ve started the kettlebells, done some yoga and some pilates, so I’m on the program.
March 3rd, 2009 @ 12:06 am
@Brett – good stuff! What kind of difference do you feel?
March 3rd, 2009 @ 4:32 am
[...] The mad chook woman posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetAs a result of such disjointed exercises, back muscles are engaged only partially at best. Back muscles become the weak link, making it difficult to walk, sit or stand for very long without discomfort and pain. … [...]
March 4th, 2009 @ 1:59 am
What do Kettlebells do for my back? I’m a 68 year old male who plays golf and carries his bag. At the end of a golf round I always had a sore back and thought it was an age related issue. Then I started using KBs. After 3 months I noticed that my back was not as sore after a round of golf. After 4 months, I noticed that a few times there was no soreness. Now, after one year of KBs, there is no back soreness and after walking 18 holes of golf I feel like I could do another nine holes! I wish I knew about KBs when I was 20.
March 4th, 2009 @ 5:33 am
@George Power – Outstanding! I hope that your story gets other 60-somethings moving and throwing kettlebells around.
It is NEVER to late begin training.
I’m getting similar results with my clients. Gradually dysfunction and pain is replaced by strength, endurance and mobility resulting in much higher quality of life.
It’s not age that brings pains and aches, it’s the life style.
March 4th, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
[...] Russian Kettlebells, Physical Education, Back Strength and Injuries [...]
May 9th, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
I just got diagnosed with spondylolisthesis in the L4 region of my spine about a month ago. I have been going to a chiropractor for about a month now and it feels much, much better. I asked my chiropractor about using kettlebells and he said it would be ok as long as I didn’t do deadlifts. Does anyone else here have or know anyone that has the same or a similar condition as me and uses kettlebells.