MONS Athletics
App

Part XV · Kettlebell exercises

Kettlebell Halo: Shoulder Circles With a Bell, Done Right

Hold a kettlebell upside down by the horns and circle it slowly around your head, close to your skull, ribs down, so only your shoulders move.

The lesson

  1. 01

    Hold it upside down by the horns

    The horns are the two upright sides of the handle. Flip the bell over and take one in each hand at chest height, elbows in.

  2. 02

    Brace before you move

    Ribs down and glutes tight, feet about hip-width. Only your shoulders and arms move from here.

  3. 03

    Circle close to your head

    Pass it around your skull, staying close, eyes forward and head still. Let it go fully behind your head, not just past your face. Elbows bend to let it through.

  4. 04

    Slow, then switch direction

    One smooth circle at a time, no swinging. Do all the circles one way, then the same number the other way.

  5. 05

    The test

    Tight shoulders mean a smaller, slower circle, not a wider one. If your lower back arches or your hips sway as the bell passes behind you, go smaller and squeeze your glutes harder.

Watch for

  • Arching your back as the bell goes behind you. Your ribs flare and your lower back moves to make room your shoulders can't, so the shoulders stop doing the work.
  • Rushing it. The bell swings round on momentum, and your shoulder is yanked through the circle instead of moving it.
  • Circling your face, not your head. The bell never goes behind you, or you duck your head out of its way, so the part of the range you came for is skipped.
  • Bell drifting away from your head. A wide circle makes the bell heavier and harder to control, and usually means your shoulders are tight.

What muscles does a kettlebell halo work? Mainly your shoulders, all the way round, with your upper back and arms helping. Your trunk works to stop the bell pulling your back into an arch.

Is the kettlebell halo a warm-up? Not here: halos are the first movement of the Power · Rotation routine, part of the work rather than something before it. They take your shoulders and upper back through a full circle under a light bell, while your trunk holds still against a weight that is off-centre the whole time. Your first set is lighter or smaller, and that is all the easing in it needs.

How heavy should a kettlebell halo be? Light: a bell you can circle slowly, close to your head, without your back arching. If the circle gets wide or fast, it is too heavy.

How many kettlebell halos should I do? Halos open the Power · Rotation routine: 5 each direction, then cleans and rotational cleans, for two to four rounds, resting until you feel fresh. There is no daily target: they come when your training day has that routine.

Next

Clean→

The halo circles the bell around your head; the clean, next in Power · Rotation, turns it around your hand into the rack at your chest.

From the book

13The body moves together→
Demonstration · Halo