Kettlebell Recovery Workout
Last week, I did too much. I was doing a standing row with a 32kg Kettlebell — just for fun, to see if I could lift it using each hand — and I felt a little twinge in my back on the right side. I shrugged it off, thinking I’d stretch it out later, but the discomfort grew as the week progressed. I foolishly pushed on and pushed myself until my designated rest day.
I then, foolishly still, picked up a 24kg Kettlebell for my next workout when I wasn’t ready to Swing it, and Clean it, and Press it, and Squat it, and I strained my back just a bit, just a little more, (Rhomboid Major and Latissimus Dorsi), on the right side — and the cruel irony of it all is that my left side is much weaker than my right side, so I believe I was overcompensating with strength on the right side to try to even out the strain in the kg jump up to a larger bell after my initial rowing injury.
I made the mistake of continuing to push through a 24kg bell workout series even though I felt each swing of the bell in my back. I finally decided to take three days to deload — using only stretching and Yoga instead of moving iron — and this is now my recovery workout.
Monday - Friday Mornings:
20kg sequence One-Hand Swing/Clean/Press/Squat 10 times each arm
Monday - Friday Evenings:
Walking, Stretching and Yoga
Saturday Morning:
28kg Two-Handed Swing 10 times x 10 (100 total)
Saturday Evening:
Stretching and Yoga
Sunday:
Off. Recovery. Light stretching
I stepped down to the 20kg bell for these focused workouts during the week, dropped the double bell routine, and used a single bell. As you can see in the first image below — in the final workout before I stepped down in weight — I was straining just a little too much and it showed in my upper heart rate. The second image is the new, lighter, working mentioned above with a more even heart rate and recovery.
Remember, these heart rate levels were created in consultation with my cardiologist based on my age and my medication. Your results on the same plan may, and should, vary.
Heart Rate injury with Kettlebell workout.
Heart rate recovery Kettlebell workout.
