Kettlebells and Neurology – Training Your Central Nervous System to Prevent Injuries
Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, encourages people to “begin with the end in mind.” In other words, Covey says, you don’t want to climb the ladder of success only to find that when you get to the top, the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.
I believe this is essential for success in any field, especially functional training. Before starting any training regimen, look at people who have achieved a high level in that discipline. Do you want to be like them?
Do you want shortened muscles, poor posture, and a neurological disconnect between your upper and lower body? Then focus on traditional muscle isolation exercises, work out with the latest “high-tech” gadget, and follow the masses.
Want increased range of motion and true full-body strength with your upper, lower, and core working together synergistically? Then grab a kettlebell!
Kettlebell lifts are psychomotor skills. Psychomotor skills are defined as complex sequences of actions that require perceptual information (input from the eyes, for example) and muscle control. What does that mean? It means that as your body performs the task, it learns. It also means that in addition to muscle growth, increased strength, etc., your body also creates additional neural connections to gather more information about the activity so that it can perform better in the future. The bottom line with these types of activities is that the more you do them, the better you get at them.
A great example of a psychomotor skill is the golf swing. The TA professional golfer probably has millions more neural connections in his body that transmit information about his swing than the average golfer. Why? Because he has golfed several hours a day for 20 years. And each time he did, more neural connections were created so that his brain could gather more information about what he was doing in his body. Consequently, the brain can make corrections and fine-tune the activity.
The problem with the golf swing is that it has little application outside of the golf course. Therefore, the neurons and neural connections that are formed as a result of practicing and improving your golf game are rarely used in everyday life. That’s the beauty of kettlebell training in general and the snatch lift in particular. These movements form the basis of most everyday activities. The neurons that are created by performing these tasks repetitively are used all day, every day; lift, reach, stand up, sit down, etc. If you are training properly with kettlebells, you will begin to perform all of your life activities more efficiently and safely because your brain has more control over your body and less stress is placed on your shoulders and lower back. Throughout life, this results in fewer injuries, lower risk of osteoarthritis, and better health.
© 2007 Ronald J. Tyszkowski, DC – All rights reserved