Freakin’ Awesome Exercise of the Day: Kettlebell Halo
It’s funny, I’ve studied the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) for the past couple of years and somehow this exercise totally slipped past me. It wasn’t until I went to Vegas for FMS Level 2 that I was introduced to the amazingness that is the
KETTLEBELL HALO
Suprisingly, my Active Straight-Leg Raise screen is a 1,2 cold. I say surprisingly because I write on here often about deadlifts this and deadlifts that, so how come I can’t raise my legs off the ground? After all, I can bend down and place my palms flat on the floor without bending my knees.
It’s an interesting question, and one that could end up being long-winded, but I’ll keep it brief (because I know you have to go to the bathroom).
I have a fairly significant anterior pelvic tilt. Because of that, when I lie on my back, my lower-back is flared off the floor, pulling my hip flexors nice and toyt like a tiger. Therefore, when I go to raise my leg, my hip flexion mobility is pretty diminished BECAUSE of my pelvic alignment.
At the Level 2 workshop, when this was seen in the group I was in, we did all the basic drills, like leg lowering, but it wasn’t budging. And then I can’t remember how we came to this decision, but someone had me go into a Half-Kneeling Kettlebell Halo.
I knocked out a few reps each way, skeptical that that was going to do anything. It seemed like more of a shoulder mobility drill than anything.
However, when I laid back on the ground, I felt something…different. I felt aligned!
I went into the leg raise and CRUSHED 3,3 on both sides!!!
I jumped up and ran around the room, chest-bumping the members of my group and even got in a playful shove on Gray, yelling to the room,
Is there no one else??
When I realized there was no one else, I sat down to collect my thoughts.
Why did that work so well??
The answer is…I don’t really know.
I mean, because of the 360-degree instability provided by the bell, and the fact that I was aggressively keeping my ribs down and glute engaged, something was triggered to “set” my pelvis and open up my hip flexors.
I say the word set because when I laid back on the ground, I just knew it was going to be solid, because I felt solid.
So, suffice to say, I played with them a lot when I got back to LA. And it was no fluke when I ended up using them on a few clients.
I have never seen a “corrective” drill have the ability to clear up so much on the screen. The way the screen is set-up, each screen has it’s own library of correctives to bring that specific screen to a 2,2. There is some overlap with a few exercises (e.g. chops, lifts, get-ups), but for the most part, things are pretty segmented.
I can safely say though that I’ve seen it clear up the shoulder mobility screen, trunk stability push-up, rotary stability, and deep squat. And when the time comes, I’m sure it will have positive effects on the hurdle step and in-line lunge.
Case in point, I have a client (high-school baseball player) who scored a 1 on the deep squat. His most limiting screen was his shoulder mobility, so once we got that cleared up, the squat was his next lowest. I did a few basic corrections, and not much was happening, and then I went all Mr. Burns…
“Ah…yes…halos.”
Sure enough, he knocked out a rock-solid 3 just after the halos!
I was impressed, and I understand there are other factors at play (maybe he was just getting better at squatting after having done several reps prior-he is a skilled athlete, after all), but I have to believe the halos contributed a great deal.
As I mentioned, halos are great for opening up the shoulders and working them through a “unique” range-of-motion. But they are also fantastic for developing reflexive core stability and getting the entire body to simply connect better. Nothing quite replicates working a heavy kettlebell around your head, while keeping the ribs down and glutes tight.
Overall, halos will probably improve your movement ability, and therefore, your strength.
I like to start people in tall-kneeling, progress to half-kneeling, and then get them up on both feet.
A few notes;
- If you have a ponytail or bun, undo it. The bell will hit it each time and make it more awkward than it already is. Sorry ladies!
- Use a challenging weight. A 10-pound kettlebell won’t do much. Go slightly heavier than you think you can handle and go slow.
- If you skipped the video above, go up and watch it and that should cover any questions on form!
Go rep a few out and let me know what you think!
Dominate All Life,
Kasey, CSCS
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