Thinking of trying kettlebells ?

[kinney1]

I am contemplating buying kettlebells. I have very tight upper traps/upper back muscles which I am working on (daily stretching)... I love the concepts of kettlebells and I was wondering if people thought they were ok to use even if you have tight upper traps muscles? Thanks.

[CAchief]

I don't think that would be a specific question just for kettlebells. Do you stretch enough?

If not, you might want to incorporate that more into your routine.

[kinney1]

i stretch every morning and night - but you are probably right that i need more...i would love to try kettlebells, but i was unsure if there movements emphasized the upper traps.

[Alcoholiday]

you should be addressing things like foam rolling and flexibility, and then exercise selection.

but, kettlebells are cool, but you can get the same benefit from using dumbbells.

[Dave Chesser]

Go for it! KBs are great. They do a lot of things for you in a fairly unique way. It's a different type of fitness experience than you may be used to.

[gobbla]

DB's are about 50% of the price of KB's. Ironically enough they're both hunks of metal with handles.

[kinney1]

thanks for the posts....

[kuri]

For tight upper traps, which includes approx. 99.98% of the population, don't do any shrugging motion and strengthen your lower/middle traps + lots of external rotation movement.

Using KBs or not doesn't matter. Go ahead and swing them, just don't shrug them.

[fred]

Originally Posted by kinney1

i stretch every morning and night - but you are probably right that i need more...i would love to try kettlebells, but i was unsure if there movements emphasized the upper traps.

Not to kick ya in the ballz but I stretch 40minutes a day after 2x20min after workout yet I had to go the physio because I neglected to stretch my IT band....opss.

If you upper traps are tight stretch them more.

KB's are cool but expensive.

[Ron_Hendrix]

Instead of spending a bunch of money buying KB's, make a t-bar handle and get the same benefits for a fraction of the cost.

As for your shoulders, try doing "shoulder dislocaters" and stretch your chest.

[Lost Dog]

From a pure physical fitness perspective, there are lots of ways to get the benefits of the kb with something else. You can do "kb swings" with almost anything, after all.

The true benefit of kbs comes when you decide to use them for strength endurance and/or competition. You will need to get good at kbs to do well.

There's an aspect of kb culture to them. To get good at more than swings, you need to practice. It can take patience and discipline, but if that's something you like, want, or need, then you might find more benefits to the kbs than the kbs themselves provide.

[kinney1]

thanks guys...i will try the shoulder dislocators. looks like a good stretch....i am definetly not fixated on using kb's. i guess i am just looking for some kind of upper body strength exercises i can do that won't aggravate my upper back. i will also continue to focus on strecthing.....i should add that i run every other day to help with my conditioning.

[fred]

Originally Posted by kinney1

i should add that i run every other day to help with my conditioning.

Not stretching your traps/delts after running might have contributed...

[Jean-Paul]

I like KBs as well as DBs, BBs, and CBs. They're all useful tools and they function a little differently. If you think they're expensive go buy some CBs!

Echoing Kuri, get a foam roller and Bill Hartman's "Inside Out" DVD.

[spankdat]

JP... maybe I'm being dense here, but what are CBs again? It's probably something as obvious as "DB" or "BB" and I'm just brain fartin', but it's not coming to me.

[gobbla]

club bell

[spankdat]

Thanks Gobbla. I was wrong however, it wouldn't have come to mind, though I do know what a club bell is.

[kinney1]

thanks again guys....jp - i do have a foam roller and the I/O video. Still haven't kicked the problem yet. My wife thinks its from carrying around our 2 boys - who knows? I guess it is just life.