A few months ago my fiancee and I got her 14 year old two light kettlebells: 10 and 15 lbs. After turning my nose up at them for a minute, I realized they can be used in a whole new way that centers less on strength and more on creative discovery. Here are a few variations on the basics you may enjoy. The Traction Swing is appropriate for everyone and may be a great rehab/corrective. The Swing variations are more beginner to intermediate. Once you feel comfortable with the swing, exploring the variations may help breath new life into a motion that has become unconscious, or help you deepen your understanding of a basic movement.

Traction Swing – hinge at the hip to a comfortable place around parallel to the floor. swing the kb (or other weight, or empty-handed) in various ways. Try powering the swing from the wrist, elbow, shoulders, scapula, spine, hips, or breath (or any other ways you want to try). Experiment with locking and/or letting certain joints during the movement. Can also do this while hanging from the other arm.

Windmill Snatch – hinge at the hip to a comfortable place around parallel to the floor. Hold kb in one hand. twist the torso and pull quick with the shoulder blade and back of the armpit, then duck the hand under as the kb rises above the level of the torso, catching it smoothly with the arm vertical and core braced. From here you can flip-toss the kb back to its starting place (catch with a soft scapula) or keep the arm straight and let it swing back to the starting place.

other names: row snatch, bent over snatch, side snatch

Swing Variations – let us temporarily separate the body into the following parts: scapulae, core, pelvis, and legs. Using a light weight, try subtly powering the motion from each area, take breaks such that you do not get tired. The goal here is to deepen your ability to break the body into parts and put them back together within a basic movement: Solve et Coagula. For the scapulae, the motion you will use would be retraction and/r upward rotation. For the core, rotation and/or extension. For the pelvis, flexion or extension. For the legs, hip and/or knee/ankle extension.