Aim for a new body from the base of your skull to your Achilles tendon (especially the posterior) in five weeks. Do the kettle bell swing. To learn to do the swing properly, start with the kettle bell dead lift and progress to the touch and go dead lift and thereafter you need to do only the swing.

If your age and fitness make it difficult to do the exercises as recommended, begin by walking and build up to 20 mins in the mornings and 20 mins in the evenings or 30 mins all at one time ( for those who can, high intensity interval walking or even easy jogging is more effective than just moderate walking). Then if you can, start doing the exercises given below and slowly build up to the recommended repetitions or to such level as to leave you feeling comfortably stretched.

The Kettle bell swing – for those just starting, it is advised to allow your body to grow into this exercise in stages.

a) First stage – The Kettle bell Dead lift: (3 sets of 5 reps)

Execution:- Stand with your feet 6″ to 12″ wider than your shoulders, with feet pointing 30⁰ out and place the kettle bell directly between your feet in line with your insteps. Bend down in a “sitting in chair” movement and do a two-handed dead lift (head-up, eyes straight ahead), slowly and return to the start position for the next rep.

It is critical that you touch the same spot on the ground every time. Lower yourself hingeing at the hip and sitting back, instead of squatting down, till thighs are parallel to the ground. Keep any bending at the ankle to a minimum or not at all. Keep shoulders somewhat pulled back to avoid rounding your back and do not let them get ahead of your knees at any time.

Once you can comfortably do this, then replace this exercise with the second stage.

b) Second stage – Touch & Go Dead Lifts: (Again 3 sets of 5 reps)

Execution:- Repeat the same two-handed dead lift as in the first stage, but with the touch point a little further back, between and behind the heels of your feet. You must return the kettle bell to exactly this spot every time. Lift the kettle in a quick ‘touch go’ explosive fashion as soon it touches the ground. However in this exercise as you come up, pop your hips forward, the angled rise of the kettle bell will give it a pendulum like swing up to about hip level.

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