The great thing about Instagram is that there’s always someone new to discover no matter what your interests are. For instance, Coach Sarah is followed by a few of my favorite kettlebell Instagram accounts. However, I just happened to come across one of her latest posts in one of my hashtag feeds. In the video for that post, her combination of speed, agility, and grace is simply amazing. Definitely deserving of a break-down!
For those of you wondering about the difficulty and complexity of the workout, I would classify it as moderate to advanced. I certainly don’t have the range of motion, flexibility, and speed to go at her pace yet. Although, even slowed down there are many benefits that are offered from the kettlebell exercises chained together in her combo. Guessing by the color stripe on the kettlebell (yellow), it’s even more impressive how quickly she moves that solid weight of the 35 pounds around!
Breaking Down This Rapid Pace Kettlebell Combo
By my count, I tallied approximately 10 different exercises or movements. Some of them are transitional or simple in nature. It’s very possible I missed a couple. I’ve watched the video several times, pausing, and restarting at different points. After completing this set of moves, they are repeated on the opposite side of the body. Check it out!
Titled Greatness of the Kettlebell, this video is an excellent demonstration of what Sarah mentions in the caption. In my opinion, it’s an expert visualization of the benefits of kettlebell training summed up in 60 seconds. At this speed, one could easily burn a lot of calories, improve their flexibility, and build strength in a short 4-5 minute workout session. Now, I’ll do my best to point out each move as I see it.
Kettlebell Moves Listed in Order
I’m sure some of these moves have a proper term or definition. However, a couple of them seem unique and original with a twist as shown by Coach Sarah. If, I’ve mislabeled anything please feel free to comment below. I want to make sure I’m accurately describing everything!
- Russian Swing
- Snatch + Reverse Lunge Combo
- Rise Up + KB Lowered to Rack
- Reverse Cossack Squat/Lunge
- Leg Pass Thru (Front to Rear)
- Bent Press
- Lower to Rack
- Lateral Swing + Transfer Loop
- Reverse Direction of Lateral Swing + Transfer Loop
- Finish with Clean
In particular, it’s the lateral swing loop and the reverse cossack squat/lunge that I’m not entirely sure about. I’ve only seen the cossack squat performed from side to side. Here, Coach Sarah effortlessly lunges backward while rotating to the side. Hence, one of the references I made to the twists I wrote of earlier. Yes, pun intended!
I absolutely love how elegant the lateral swing loop-de-loop looks too. It’s one of those moves that I need to practice and is probably less intimidating once you nail it down. Fellow Instagram user and fitness coach solidrocfitness also incorporates this move in many of his kettlebell flows. It’s a nice exercise to transition from one side of the body to the other and seems to serve as a bridge for repeating moves with the opposite side.
Final Thoughts on This Kettlebell Combo
As an enthusiast, I’m still trying to hone and perfect my technique with kettlebell exercises. That label allows for a security blanket of sorts in terms of my non-fitness goals with this blog and website. While I want to present my own videos as being technically sound and proper, it’s understood that I am not a trainer. Rather, my mission is to inspire others who want to improve their health to pick up a kettlebell and give those workouts a chance.
Coaches and trainers like Coach Sarah not only have to execute and demonstrate these moves to the best of their ability, they must do so within the constraints of social media. That means creating and developing combos, flows, and routines that fit within the allotted time. It’s not easy to perfectly time a video for 60 seconds to post on Instagram. Hell, I struggle with fitting my monologues within that time! Compressing all of the moves and sets so that the audience gets a real good look doesn’t go unnoticed to me. Very nice job Coach Sarah, and I’ll definitely be following you closely from here on out!
