Exercise of the Week: Lunge Sweep

I've been playing around with kettlebells lately and, while I haven't spent much time on traditional kettlebell moves, I like having a weight with a handle. Being able to hold onto a weight with a solid grip or switch hands in the middle of an exercise opens the door for a variety of creative exercises and more reasons for my clients to groan when I walk in the door.

This lunge sweep is my new favorite and one that has elicited many, many groans from my clients. It's a bit tricky but the idea is almost like a lunge with a pivot. You lunge to one side while holding the kettlebell. As you come out of the lunge, you raise the kettlebell up over the head, pivot and turn the body to the other side while switching hands and lunging with the other leg.

What I like about this move is that it works multiple muscles - the hips, glutes and thighs, of course, as well as the arms, shoulders and core. It also raises the heart rate, making this one a great overall calorie-burner.

To keep this move safe, start with no weight to get the movement down (I used a 10 lb kettlebell in the example shown, but usually start my clients with a light medicine ball). If you're on carpet, you'll want to shift your feet as you pivot to avoid tweaking the knee.

Do it right: Begin with feet wider than the hips, kettlebell or weight in the right hand. Pivot and turn the body to the right and lower into a lunge. As you push back up, swing the weight up and over the head as you pivot back to the front. Switch hands and pivot to the left, lowering into a lunge and taking the weight down to the floor. Continue alternating sides while swinging the weight up and over (if you're advanced, you can toss the weight to the other hand at the top of the motion) for 1-3 sets of 8-10 reps (1 rep includes lunging to the right and left).