The Half Kneeling Windmill Series

The Half Kneeling Windmill Series

Instructors Only / By

A powerful sequence for teaching the bent press, the half kneeling windmill series develops the range of motion and control at the hips and t-spine that supports this lift.

Key points to this series:

  1. Practice this series as bodyweight drills first.
  2. You can also practice the series without the arm overhead.
  3. When the ankle of the down leg is plantarflexed, make sure the foot is pointed straight away or angles slightly in from the tibia/shin.
  4. Being able to sit in seiza can be a good “check” before the half kneeling series—place your knees on the floor and rest your buttock on the top of your feet. The tops of your feet should be flat on the floor.
  5. Open half kneeling while sitting down to seiza on the down leg is also a good “check” for this series.
  6. Do not laterally flex the spine during the drills.
  7. Keep the weight centered on the down knee and do not “fall” forward during the drills.
  8. Only work in the range you can control and build that range over time.
  9. You may need to adjust some of the positions to the individual.

Watch the video for a full demonstration and read the instructions below:

Open Half Kneeling to the Elbow

  1. Begin in half kneeling with the heel of the “up” leg almost in line with the plantarflexed ankle of the down leg.
  2. One arm will be overhead like it is supporting a kettlebell and the opposite arm will be bent to 90-degrees at the elbow.
  3. While looking at the “up” arm, begin to hinge the hips back while folding at the waist to take the elbow of the opposite arm to the ground.
  4. Use your t-spine rotation to align the spine in a straight line off the hips.
  5. When the elbow of the opposite arm reaches the ground, it should be close to (perhaps even touching) the down knee.
  6. Return to the start position with the kettlebell overhead.

“Railroad Tracks” Half Kneeling to the Hand

  1. Begin in half kneeling so the front leg is up, knee bent to 90-degrees, with the foot flat on the ground and in line with the hip and the rear leg has the knee directly underneath the hip on the ground with the tibia/shin pointed straight back with the ankle dorsiflexed (toes tucked).
  2. One arm will be overhead like it is supporting a kettlebell and the opposite arm will be straight and reaching for the ground.
  3. Use your t-spine rotation to turn the shoulders while looking at the “up” hand.
  4. “Spiral up” into the hip of the up leg while reaching for the ground with the lower arm.
  5. When you reach the ground, the hand should be parallel with and close to the foot of the up leg.
  6. Imagine you are between two panes of glass just outside your hips and you need to stay between them.
  7. Spiraling up into the hip and hinging slightly should keep your center of mass over the down knee—do not fall forward onto the hand.
  8. Return to the start position with the kettlebell overhead.

“Railroad Tracks” Half Kneeling to the Elbow

  1. Begin in half kneeling so the front leg is up, knee bent to 90-degrees, with the foot flat on the ground and in line with the hip and the rear leg has the knee directly underneath the hip on the ground with the tibia/shin pointed straight back with the ankle dorsiflexed (toes tucked).
  2. One arm will be overhead like it is supporting a kettlebell and the opposite arm will be reaching across to grab the top of the foot of the up leg and assist in guiding the motion to the elbow of that arm touching the ground.
  3. Use your t-spine rotation to turn the shoulders while looking at the “up” hand.
  4. “Spiral up” into the hip of the up leg while reaching for the ground with the elbow of the lower arm.
  5. Imagine you are between two panes of glass just outside your hips and you need to stay between them.
  6. Spiraling up into the hip and hinging slightly should keep your center of mass over the down knee—do not fall forward onto the elbow.
  7. Return to the start position with the kettlebell overhead.

A caveat on the “in-line” versions: Not everyone will be able to keep their hips and legs perfectly “in-line,” so allow for some individual variation in the position of the rear hip/shin. The shin may turn in a bit to better accommodate individual hip structure