Hosted blogging is a little more involved that the free side, so please be patient while I work the kinks out and wind my way around the new stuff.

Please change your bookmarks, and update your RSS and Technorati accounts!

Thanks again for coming by.  See you over at www.ironbellathletics.com.

Jim

Way to go, Rob! The rest of you all--listen and enjoy! Besides, you can't go wrong with a name like "Waster," that's one of the tools we use to practice our longsword fencing with... :D.

Oh, and here's my "reminds me of" statement: the sound (esp the lead vocals) reminds me a lot of Adam Stemple of such bands as Cats Laughing and Boiled in Lead.

And a little bit like the guy singing the D'ampton Worm song in the hysterical "Lair of the White Worm."

And there you have it. Cheers.

Kettlebells have been used in their larger form for years as heavy weight training for workout junkies and Olympic athletes. Khai designed the smaller kBell to be used in cardio routines to create lean muscles instead of sheer bulk. The principle is sound, and the cardio program is definitely exercise.

But the big question is, does it work?

It depends.

When my Kettlenetics set arrived, I popped in the DVD right away and started swinging and squatting.

I didn't even make it through the whole video. I can run a mile and burn rubber on the bike and elliptical machine, but Kettlenetics was beyond me. I paused multiple times to catch my breath and drink water while Khai and her energetic accomplices kept grinning and swinging.

The next day, I could barely walk. Like an old woman, it took me minutes to sit down and stand back up again, nevermind walking. I decided to screw the workout schedule that came with the DVD and took two days off. Then I got back up and pushed through it again. Once again, I didn't make it through the whole thing. But I did get farther.

Then I started doing the ten-minute workouts for specific body parts instead of the general cardio workout.

And I got results. My hips shrank inches, my legs looked leaner, and I started seeing more muscle definition in my arms. I took a perverse pleasure in trying on jeans and skirts from two years ago, looking better now than I did then.

But then I went on vacation and left my kBell behind. Ten days without my kBell and I lost my motivation. I didn't lose all the progress I made, but I did see a difference.

The bottom line is, Kettlenetics works. But, as with any exercise program, you have to commit to it.

And with that, I'm popping in the DVD again and picking up the kBell. Let's see if I can get through the whole hour this time.

Lifting : At the moment train the loading phase, so lots of volume with moderate weights for next two weeks follow from 1-3 weeks of deload + intensification

so let's get started :

Liftingsession A Heavy, August 3rd 2008

Backsquats 5x5 same weight 125kgs

Deadlifts 6x6 same weight 142,5 kgs

Benchpresses 5x5 same weight 95 kgs

GP-Rows 5x5 same weight 95 kgs

------------------------------------

August 4th morning endurance/heartrate session :

Man Maker : 12 minutes Kettlebell-Swings (x25) alternating rope jumps (1min.)without rests

------------------------------------

Liftingsession B Light, August 4th 2008 :

Powercleans 5x5 same weight 80 kgs

Pushpresses 5x5 same weight 70 kgs

Cleanpulls 5x5 same weight 132,5kgs

Weighted Chins 5x5 same weight BW+27,5kgs

-----------------------------------------

Liftingsession C Light, August 5th 2008 :

Backsquats light 5x5 same weight 102,5

Good Mornings 4x8 - 65/72,5/80/87,5kgs

Weighted Dips 5x5 same weight BW+40kgs

----------------------------------------

August 6th morning endurance/heartrate session :

Man Maker : 12 minutes Kettlebell-Swings (x25) alternating rope jumps (1min.)without rests

Kettlebell 20kgs Clean + Press 10/10 x 8/8/8

Renegade Rows + Burpees + MountainClimbers

-------------------------------------

 August 6th evening endurance/heartrate session :

BW-Chin+Dip Kombo -> BW-Chins x 12 alternating BW-Dips x15 for 5 rounds

Kettlebell-Meltdown 300 Workou copying from KBAdvantage (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kettlebell+meltdown+300+workout&search_type=&aq=1&oq=Kettlebell+Me) with following adjustments (fatprinted) :

25x V-Ups

50 x Cleans (Snatches unfortunately not possible for me due to shoulder injury some years ago)

25 x Pushups

50 x Swings

50 x Burpees

30 (instead of 50) x Clean + Press 

50 x Mountain-Climbers

--------------------------------------

a hátsó szomszéd kerítése, előtte a leendő telkünk

a háztól kb. 200m-re van ez a tó, ami a helyiek kedvelt fürdőterülete, természetesen kiépített, lekerített hivatalos fürdőhely

Délutáni edzés:

HAS

SWINGEK:
kétkezes, egykezes, magas, fordulós
MP
CLEAN & PRESS
SNATCH

CLUBBELL
HAS:
lebegőülés, hasprés, haskerék

Simply put, after a ten minute warm-up, we did the following with Val using her 12 kg while I used my 16 kg:

Set 1)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 10 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 2)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 20 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 3)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 30 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 4)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 40 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 5)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 30 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 6)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 20 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Set 7)  10 swings right, transfer, 10 swings left, then 10 DARCs (alternating right and left swings).

Rest for a few (no set time).

Finish with 30 Figure 8-to a hold (15 each side).

That's it.  300 swings.  We just enjoyed the breeze and a little grown-up talk while Kyle rode his bike around the school and Colin practiced football.

Life is good.

dg 18:16
yb 12:39

yb - 26 lb kb, assisted 50 lb nautilus machine pullups. had to wait for pullup machine and stopped timer during wait.

sub 7:00 Helen by OPT!

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_SCL1OPTHelen.mov
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_SCL1OPTHelen.wmv

pullup bar was about a foot from the wall, which made it difficult to kip. as a result, i wasn't able to maintain the chest-to-bar standard, but my chin was clearly over the bar for all of the reps.

helen was the WOD yesterday, but I waited till the AC closed thinking I could do it outdoors. there was a construction framework that was bridging over the sidewalk on huron street with steel bars that would be perfect for pullups, but midway through my first round of pullups the university constable drove by to stop me.

which is perfect of course because TODAY's WOD is a 15k run, and since there is a rain/thunderstorm outside I can't run anyways. plus there is no way I am running an indoor 200m track 70+ times.

I'm sure there's more than one of you saying that to the title.  But before you click back to more pressing matters like dodging clowns for car insurance or voting whether Brittany or her sister are prettier, let me run this by you.

I recently finished ETK and I'm kind of stuck with what to do next for my kettlebell program.  So while I was surfing around a few kettlebell sites for ideas, I came across kettlebell juggling as an alternative to one's regular workout.  While this wasn't the first time I heard about juggling kettlebells, I hadn't really thought of it as a workout.

With boredom my motivator, I figured it couldn't hurt to try something different and I didn't think I'd practice for more than 20 minutes today anyway.  So I packed up my 16 kg kettlebell and headed off to my son's football practice.  Might as well make good use of the 2.5 hours at the football field.

I went to a spot by in the shade by the school and did a quick 10 minute warm-up. 

After grabbing a quick drink of water, I checked the time (4:15) and started with what I thought would be some easy one-handed flips.  HA!  Easy my eye!  Basically, you just swing the kettlebell up, release the handle, let it flip, and catch the handle again before passing it down and back between you legs.  Simple.

Well after dropping the kettlebell several times on the right side, followed by dropping it several times more on the left, I decided to try a different tack.  First I consulted my vast and superior memory of all things kettlebell, and remembered this neat drill called a hand-to-hand clean.  It's similar to a swing/flip, but instead of flipping the kettlebell, you catch the bell on the ball side.  If you do it right, the bell will simply glide smoothly into the palm of your anxiously awaiting hand.  You then give it a gentle shove away, catch the handle and drop it back between your legs, ready for the next rep.

My first attempt went a little wide and I dropped it (good thing I was outdoors).  My second attempt came closer, however the bell slid off my hand, hit the ground and flopped onto the toes of my left foot.  *%$#!

Water break!

O.K.  Time to focus.  This can't be that hard.  After finding the rythm and "taming the arc" of the kettlebell, I did five reps right, hit a transfer to my left and did five reps left.  That was fun!

So much fun that I immediately transferred the bell back to my right hand and hit 10 reps before changing back and getting 10 reps on the left side.

Now I've got it.  That swing/flip should be simple.

And so my odyssey began.  I hit 2 reps.  Then 5 reps.  Switch to the left.  One rep, then...dropped.  Trying to keep things even from right to left, I decided that I would try to do the same reps on the left as I did on my right.  AND, to keep trying on the left until I hit the target number.

I'm pretty sure I did several hundred swing/flips (attempts) on the left side.  To put it bluntly, my left side sucks.  I ended up doing 25 straight reps on the right side, once I got the hang of doing a high pull before the flip.  But I could not get my left hand to cooperate.  I'd go several reps before the bell/my hand/my wrist would turn ever so slightly and send the whole shebang tumbling all catty-wampus through the air and down to the ground with a thud.

Again, unless you're very comfortable doing these, do them outdoors.  If you search on youtube, you'll see some kettlebell jugglers practicing indoors.  But really, don't do that until you get good.  And if it's your first day, you won't be good.  Sorry to dash your hopes and dreams of kettlebell juggling on America's Got Talent.

After a couple more water breaks, I happened to look at my cell phone and saw that almost 45 minutes had gone by.  So much for practicing for 20 minutes!  I was sweating like I'd just done a prolonged swing workout.  Right about then I noticed an old filament type lightbulb glowing about 6 inches above my head.  Ah-ha!  It really was a swing workout!  Or a swing/high-pull workout.

In my quest for figuring out that damn swing/flip, I'd actually done at least a couple hundred swings attempting to perfect my technique.  Now how'd that happen?  Kettlebell juggling isn't real exercise, it's just messing around, right?

Nope.  If you happen to be sick of swings, or just can't muster up the motivation for that 500 rep snatch workout, try juggling.  It's a great change of pace and it will get your heart rate up.  That burns calories.  And that helps you burn fat.  So there it is.  Kettlebell juggling for fat loss.

Enjoy!

Luckily, I had my stitches removed this morning, so I'm ready to get back into the game.

FINALLY!!!

When we last heard from our intrepid hero and his band of merry gireviks, they had completed week 11 of the Enter The Kettlebell program.  We had one more week to go, and I was going to finish out with using my 28 kg for my last heavy, 5 X 5 ladder fo the clean and press.  Well, things didn't really work out that way.

Doctor's orders and all that, blah, blah, blah.

As it was, we were getting burned out on the routine as well,  I hit my 24 kg 5 X 5 with no problem, so in actuality, the program was a success.  My final weight?  190.5 lbs.  And that was after a two-week layoff. 

The final result of the Enter The Kettlebell program was 12 lbs. lost, and that's about a pound a week for me.  Not too bad, since I didn't make any major adjustments with my diet.  And my wife is very pleased with how she and I look in the buff, if you know what I mean.

Are you interested in losing fat and building muscle in an easy to follow format?  Click on the Dragondoor banner and get your Enter The Kettlebell DVD, book and kettlebell.  Study those, get comfortable with the basic moves and order the Enter The Kettlebell workbook from the Art of Strength.

That will get you on the road to fitness with the added benefit of reshaping your body like the Greek athletic ideal.  TRY IT!

So that brings us to today.  I need a new program to keep us busy, and I'm still in a quandry as to what I'm going to focus on.  Val had to attend a business meeting this afternoon, so I was left with taking my son Colin to his first day of football practice.  I decided to bring my 16 kg with me and practice some of the different lifts to see if any one of them triggered my interest to focus on.

I began with our standard warm-up, wall squats, halos, and pumps for four sets of 10 each.  That usually takes about ten minutes and gets the blood pumping without too much stress on the body before our kettlebell training.

My first drill was kettlebell snatches for a ladder of 10.  I did these with a hand-to-hand switch between them all the way to 10 reps per side.  Like this:

1.  
   1. 1R, 1L, 2R, 2L, 3R, 3L, 4R, 4L, 5R, 5L, 6R, 6L, 7R, 7L, 8R, 8L, 9R, 9L, 10R, 10L.
   2. Jog for 200 yards.
   3. Rest for 3 minutes.
   4. 1R, 1L, 2R, 2L, 3R, 3L, 4R, 4L, 5R, 5L, 6R, 6L, 7R, 7L, 8R, 8L, 9R, 9L, 10R, 10L.
   5. Jog for 200 yards.
   6. Rest for 3 minutes.

That's 220 snatches total.  I spent time practicing my grip, pull, lock-out, and corkscrew as I went along.  2 weeks is a pretty long layoff, so I thought it best to start back in with the 16 kg.  As it was I worked up a pretty good sweat before moving to:

Jerks - 5R, 5L, 5R, 5L  No breaks, just 5 on the right, switch hands, 5 on the left, switch hands, 5 on the right, switch hands, and 5 on the left.

Again, I practiced my form, concentrating on my rack and hip pop.

Just for kicks, I threw in 20 figure 8 to a hold (10 each hand).  If you're not sure what that is, watch this:

Next up was walking tactical lunges; 20 steps out, 20 steps back.

Followed by:

Press ladders: 

1.  
   1. 1R, 1L, 2R, 2L, 3R, 3L, 4R, 4L, 5R, 5L.
   2. Rest 1 minute.
   3. 1R, 1L, 2R, 2L, 3R, 3L, 4R, 4L, 5R, 5L.
   4. Rest 1 minute.

Next up, more practice.  This time with the Long Cycle Clean and Jerk.

1.   10R, 10L.

I liked those.  Something new and challenging.  When I took my American Kettlebell Club certification, Head Coach Valery Federenko mentioned to me that I had a great build for this exercise.  Mainly because of my long legs and shorter torso. 

I finished with the windmill for 5 on the right side and 5 on the left side.

Done.

Luckily football practice was 2.5 hours long.  I took about 45 minutes or so to do this while Colin was practicing, and it was a fun way to practice the different lifts and to get some endurance work in.

I'm finalizing my new programs and will detail them in the coming days.  Suffice it to say there will be some power work, some strength/endurance work, and some straight endurance stuff.

Thanks for visiting while I was taking time off.  I appreciate all my readers and hope everyone's staying true to their fitness goals.  You don't have to be perfect, you just have to try.

Pavel's book had me reconsider my training routines yet again. My current plan now focuses much more narrowly on a few exercises done in higher volumes. One area I diverge significantly is where I incorporate chest-specific exercises, which are nowhere to be found in ETK. I would still say my routine is in a beta sort of stage-- especially since I am waiting on a new 53 lb. KB to arrive-- but I think I am converging onto a plan I can stick with for a long time. I sketch my training below.

Day 1

1. Clean-and-press
2. One-arm swing
3. Push ups, narrow

Day 2

• Run. Short, long, interval or not.

Day 3

1. Chest press on an exercise ball.
2. Chin-up
3. Snatch
4. Overhand curls. Grab the KB upside down by its horns and curl. The motion is effectively the same as overhand curls done on an EZ curl bar.

Day 4

• Run, or
• A variant of "man makers." Alternate sets of twenty or so overhead squats or swings with a couple of minutes of jogging. Rinse, repeat.

Day 5

1. Bicep curl
2. Deadlift
3. Tricep extension
4. Overhead press
5. Bent-over row

I have been using a 35 lb. KB, which is a comfortable weight at this point. Days 1 through 4 typically have four sets of 20 to 26 reps for all exercises, where the reps are split between left and right sides where that is appropriate; chin-ups are done in sets of 10. I typically do one set of an exercise and switch to the next, alternating between movements rather than exhausting all four sets before moving to. Thus far, I have stuck with 6 jog-lift cycles of "man makers," which has treated me well. To be honest, Day 5 may be overkill, but I appreciate the extra definition from the isolation. Of course, choose 4 of the 5 days to do something like the standard ab routine. None of these should take more than 45 minutes to an hour.

-- nog ff wachten op video --

A 'kettlebell' or girya (Russ.) is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a cannonball with a handle. The ultimate tool for extreme all-round fitness.

The kettlebell goes way back, it first appeared in a Russian dictionary in 1704 (Cherkikh, 1994). So popular were kettlebells in Tsarist Russia that any strongman or weightlifter was referred to as a girevik, or 'a kettlebell man'.

"Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics," reported Russian magazine Hercules in 1913.

Why train with kettlebells?

Because they deliver extreme all-round fitness. And no single other tool does it better. Here is a short list of hardware the Russian kettlebell replaces: barbells, dumbbells, belts for weighted pullups and dips, thick bars, lever bars, medicine balls, grip devices, and cardio equipment. Here is why the kettlebell dominates other exercise equipment

Vinogradov & Lukyanov (1986) found a very high correlation between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and a great range of dissimilar tests: strength, measured with the three powerlifts and grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pullups and parallel bar dips; general endurance, determined by a 1000 meter run; work capacity and balance, measured with special tests.

Voropayev (1983) tested two groups of subjects in pullups, a standing broad jump, a 100m sprint, and a 1k run. He put the control group on a program that emphasized the above tests; the experimental group lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on the tested exercises, the kettlebell group scored better in every one of them! This is what we call "the what the hell effect".

Kettlebells melt fat without the dishonor of dieting or aerobics. If you are overweight, you will lean out. If you are skinny, you will get built up. According to Voropayev (1997) who studied top Russian gireviks, 21.2% increased their bodyweight since taking up kettlebelling and 21.2% (the exact same percentage, not a typo), mostly heavyweights, decreased it. The Russian kettlebell is a powerful tool for fixing your body comp, whichever way it needs fixing.

Kettlebells forge doers' physiques along the lines of antique statues: broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back muscles standing out in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged forearms, a cut-up midsection, and strong legs without a hint of squatter's chafing.

Liberating and aggressive as medieval swordplay, kettlebell training is highly addictive. What other piece of exercise equipment can boast that its owners name it? Paint it? Get tattoos of it? Our Russian kettlebell is the Harley-Davidson of strength hardware.

Who trains with kettlebells?

Hard comrades of all persuasions.

Soviet weightlifting legends such as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy, and Alexeyev started their Olympic careers with old-fashioned kettlebells. Yuri Vlasov once interrupted an interview he was giving to a Western journalist and proceeded to press a pair of kettlebells. "A wonderful exercise," commented the world champion. "…It is hard to find an exercise better suited for developing strength and flexibility simultaneously."

The Russian Special Forces personnel owe much of their wiry strength, explosive agility, and never-quitting stamina to kettlebells. Soldier, Be Strong!, the official Soviet armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell drills to be "one of the most effective means of strength development" representing "a new era in the development of human strength-potential".

The elite of the US military and law enforcement instantly recognized the power of the Russian kettlebell, ruggedly simple and deadly effective as an AK-47. You can find Pavel's certified RKC instructors among Force Recon Marines, Department of Energy nuclear security teams, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, the Secret Service Counter Assault Team, etc.

Once the Russian kettlebell became a hit among those whose life depends on their strength and conditioning, it took off among hard people from all walks of life: martial artists, athletes, regular hard comrades.

Am I kettlebell material?

Kettlebell training is extreme but not elitist. At the 1995 Russian Championship the youngest contestant was 16, the oldest 53! And we are talking elite competition here; the range is even wider if you are training for yourself rather than for the gold. Dr. Krayevskiy, the father of the kettlebell sport, took up training at the age of forty-one and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty.

Only 8.8% of top Russian gireviks, members of the Russian National Team and regional teams, reported injuries in training or competition (Voropayev, 1997). A remarkably low number, especially if you consider that these are elite athletes who push their bodies over the edge. Many hard men with high mileage have overcome debilitating injuries with kettlebell training (get your doctor's approval). Acrobat Valentin Dikul fell and broke his back at seventeen. Today, in his mid-sixties, he juggles 180-pound balls and breaks powerlifting records!

What is the right kettlebell size for me?

Kettlebells come in 'poods'. A pood is an old Russian measure of weight, which equals 16kg, or roughly 35 lbs. An average man should start with a 35-pounder. It does not sound like a lot but believe it; it feels a lot heavier than it should! Most men will eventually progress to a 53-pounder, the standard issue size in the Russian military. Although available in most units, 70-pounders are used only by a few advanced guys and in elite competitions. 88-pounders are for mutants.

An average woman should start with an 18-pounder. A strong woman can go for a 26-pounder. Some women will advance to a 35-pounder. A few hard women will go beyond.

"Kettlebells are like weightlifting times ten."

"Kettlebells are like weightlifting times ten," stated Olympic Silver Medalist in Greco-Roman Wrestling Dennis Koslowski, D.C., RKC. "…If I could've met Pavel in the early '80s, I might've won two gold medals. I'm serious."

SIte: http://www.russiankettlebells.com/?__utma=1.689826810.1216527525.1216527525.1216688119.2&__utmb=1&__utmc=1&__utmx=1.&__utmz=1.1216688119.2.2.utmccn%3D(organic)%7Cutmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmctr%3Dkettlebell%2Barticles%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic&__utmv=-&__utmk=76465046#whatis

20 kétkezes
30-30 jobb és balkezes
jobb-bal-kétkéz x 10
20magas swing

6. Athletic Conditioning :

a. Kettlebells are incredibly mobile, much easier to have available while conditioning or even at skills practice.

b. Kettlebells provide valuable variety in conjunction with speed, agility, endurance, and quickness work.

c. Additionally, what athlete couldn't use a little development of hip drive along with learning to accelerate and decelerate load?

These are some of my favorite athletic conditioning drill and kettlbell combinations:

-Two-handed Swing + Hill Sprint

-Snatch + Suicides/Ladders

-Horn Squat and Press + Squat Thrust with Jump

-Cleans + Box Agility Drill

7. Strength Development - One of the knocks on kettlebells has always been that "they are good for conditioning but poor for strength development." This argument becomes pretty much a moot point when you run into the likes of Steve Cotter and Mike Mahler, both of whom are pretty damn strong guys. Of course, then the argument becomes that it doesn't transfer. Again, the answer is that it does transfer. Coach Ken Black was recently here in Phoenix and did some strongman training. He was easily able to lap a 300 lb stone and flip a 900 lb tire for several reps. Not too bad for the first time on both implements. By the way, Ken does the majority of his training with kettlebells. Are kettlebells going to make you a 600 lb bench presser or a 1000 lb squatter? Probably not. However, for the majority of people out there who want to look good "nekkid" and have a good amount of strength to boot, there is definitely merit in using kettlebells for strength training. Given that kettlebells are available for a good price up to and beyond 105 lbs, most guys will be able find a bell that provides more than adequate load stimulus.

8. Unilateral Lifting - The traditional programming for the kettlebell is unilateral. One-arm cleans and snatches are the basis of a lot of kettlebell work, but that is just the start. Two of the most compelling reasons for performing unilateral kettlebell lifts are:

a. The carrying position of the load while performing press drills allows the shoulder girdle to open up which is very beneficial in this day and age of shit posture. Anything you can do to work against a kyphotic upper back posture is huge.

b. The height at which the kettlebell hand is held when performing drills such as the single deadlift is perfect for quick and smooth transitions through a workout. When performed in a traditional manner, single leg squats or pistols place a massive demand on the trunk to provide stability throughout the entire movement.

Want more unilateral movement and trunk stabilization?

Perform some one-arm cleans and snatches using a kettlebell. You'll have it figured out after just a few reps. Sure, all these drills can be performed with dumbbells, but they are definitely enhanced when performed with kettlebells, enough to warrant their consideration.

9. Easy Grip Strengthening - About 90% of the people who walk through the door to my facility have the grip strength of a nine year old girl. The kettlebell is a very appropriate tool for improving grip strength because the handle gets incrementally thicker as the weight gets heavier. This works perfectly. As clients get progressively stronger, they are challenged with thicker handles. One of my favorite introductory drills that kills two birds with one stone is the kettlebell farmer's walk; simple yet very effective at accomplishing several training goals at once.

10. Only One Priority - Whether you are a coach or someone training hard for a particular goal, there is only one thing that matters - Getting Results. The majority of trainees with whom I have contact are very novice and the mere sight of a barbell could send them running out the door and leave me with an empty pocketbook. In contrast, I can have clients deadlifting, squatting, pressing, and sometimes even cleaning or snatching a kettlebell within one or two sessions. To me the sacrifice of the barbell is well worth it, not only from the business aspect, but also because my clients lay down a solid base of good technique due to the aforementioned benefits of using kettlebells. Does this mean I have thrown out my barbell? Hell no! It does mean, however, I have learned a new way to skin a cat. A faster tool to teach = faster results. And that's what really matters to me, and to my clients. (Note: Most women do well starting with a 12 kg/26 lb bell and a somewhat experienced male could start with a 24 kg/53 lb bell).

Could you and I argue the pros and cons of kettlebell training until we were both blue in the face? Yes, and we probably wouldn't come close to a consensus. Do you need to own as many kettlebells as I do? Probably not. But you would be ignoring a very valuable training tool if you didn't at least consider having kettlebells in your training toolbox. In addition to everything that I have discussed here, it's a well-documented fact that kettlebells can help you become bigger, faster, stronger, and more athletic. I am pretty sure each and every one of us is looking to develop at least one of those aspects with our various training programs.

: article by Troy Anderson

The mind can benefit as much as the body does from exercise.  Research in the area of psychology and physical activity supports a relationship between physical fitness, mental alertness and emotional stability.

An example of this relationship is that improved endurance makes the body less susceptible to fatigue, and consequently less likely to commit errors, mental or physical.  Your performance, whatever your job, can be sustained longer without the necessity for frequent breaks.  People who are physically fit usually have a better outlook, a little more self-confidence and often do well in whatever their talents and ambitions prompt them to try. 

They say first impressions last the longest. In the case of kettlebells, my first impression was way off. I was formally introduced to kettlebells about three years ago by my colleague Josh Henkin during one of our weekend training sessions. My wife got hooked on them and almost immediately started looking for them on eBay. To say I was a little hesitant about kettlebells would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, when I learned that she had purchased a pair of 12 kg kettlebells, I believe my comment was something like, "You can do the exact same thing with dumbbells."

My how things have changed. I now have at least 10 kettlebells in my facility and will probably add a few more in the relatively near future. I also drag around another six or so in my truck for my outdoor fitness camps. I'm sure some of you are thinking that I have gone and drunk the proverbial kool-aid.

No, what actually happened was I realized two things.

1. All of the best coaches that I know use them for many different types of clients. Whether they're coaching for athletic development, fat-loss, powerlifting or hypertrophy, you will likely see kettlebells being used during some portion of a training day. There must be some merit to the implement if all those guys use them with their clients.

2. As a coach and businessman, I can't afford to ignore such a versatile implement. I have a limited amount of square footage and a limited budget so it is important for me to invest in equipment that I can get a lot out of in a small amount of space.

In other words, kettlebells are just too big a deal and too good a tool to ignore. Whether you are a fitness competitor or a powerlifter, there are many reasons you should at least consider kettlebells. These are my top 10:

1. Pound for pound they are the best piece of home equipment you can purchase. Not nearly as expensive, and they take up a helluva a lot less space than the "clothes hanger" err... treadmill many of you have. For a modest investment, you can get a kettlebell, an instructional DVD, and probably one or two sessions with a local instructor - a much more effective start to a fitness program than "some assembly required."

2. Price Point - They say duplication is the highest form of flattery. Well, that must be true in the case of kettlebells. It used to be that you could only get kettlebells at Dragon Door. Now there are no fewer than a half-dozen other distributors out there. Are they all the same quality bell? No, but if you do a little research and ask around, you can find out who is selling the best bell at the best price.

3. Instant Feedback Loop - One of the keys to coaching is having the client/athlete understand the difference between proper and improper technique. With the kettlebell, drills such as cleans and snatches provide clients/athletes with instant feedback. The way the kettlebell falls gives them a not so subtle reminder of their improper technique, and after a workout or two, they won't have any trouble with the technique at all.

4. Teach Olympic Lifts Fast - The bane of teaching Olympic lifting has always been that the lifts are difficult to teach. Kettlebells make an excellent segue. Not only can you teach variants of the Olympic lifts but things can be taken back a notch farther. One of the first things you learn, even in the most basic kettlebell drills, is hip drive.

5. Great for Fat-Loss - I don't know if there is a better, more easily learned drill than a two-handed kettlebell swing. There are so many different complexes available that the opportunities for ass-kicking fat-loss work are endless. If you could do only one drill, this is it because what you need for fat-loss is to move a load for as long as possible. That's exactly what kettlebells allow you to do and you can add some speed as well.

: article by Troy Anderson

For many of us over 40, we struggle to keep our waistline and yearn for those wonder years when we could eat all day and never show an ounce of fat.  In fact, I’ve got the skinny teenage pictures to remind me of what I once had.

As we get older however, our metabolism slows, our eating habits change, and we begin to put on that mid-life spread. I know I’ve been struggling to lose belly fat and have tried the liquid diet approach and other supplements/magic potions to try to trim my gut.  Before recently, however, all I gained was a lighter wallet. 

And those great ab gadgets you see at your local big box or sports store?  They usually sell the best on or around January 1^st and then turn into a garage sale item a few months later.

And really, do you honestly think that those models on the infomercials got their physiques by using the “Abtronic 3000”?  Come on now! I hope you've been insulted by all of these fraudulent marketers and the gimmicks and scams that they’re pushing down your throat by trying to get you to believe that a belly-fat reduction miracle is possible overnight.

So let's get past all of the scams and gimmicks and get right down to the hard science and reality behind what techniques and strategies really do help you to lose your stubborn belly fat and keep it off for life!

1) The first and most important principle is how you structure your workouts. In order to stimulate fat-loss from your stomach, you need to stop wasting so much of your time doing all kinds of abdominal exercises and hundreds of reps of crunches, leg lifts, and torso twists in the hopes of "spot-reducing" your belly and love handles.

I'm sure you know by now if you've read any reputable fitness publications over the last decade that spot-reduction DOES NOT occur. It's a myth that just won't seem to go away. The truth is you don't lose belly fat by doing exercises that target the stomach area. Unfortunately, even though most people understand this (or at least they should), they still spend WAY too much of their training time trying to target the stomach with dozens of abs exercises.

Now don't get me wrong, a certain amount of abdominal exercises are great and they do help to strengthen your core and help you maintain a healthy back. For instance, if you’ve been reading my Enter The Kettlebell posts, you know I throw in one set of Janda sit-ups and one set of straight-leg sit-ups at the end of my ETK workout.  But the fact is that direct ab exercises should only be a small portion of your workout routines. The majority of your time should be spent focusing on multi-joint exercises that work the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs, chest, and back.

That, my friends, is one of the REAL secrets for ridding yourself of that sloppy belly fat for good. Focusing on big multi-joint exercises for the largest portions of your body greatly increases your metabolic rate both during the workout, and for 24-48 hours after the workout. In addition, this also stimulates an increase in fat-burning hormones within your body. You simply don't get this type of metabolic and hormonal response by wasting most of your time with "ab-pumping" exercises.

I you really, really want to lose belly fat... do some squats, do some deadlifts, some lunges, step-ups, snatches, heavy cleans, some back and chest work. It doesn't matter per se if it's barbells, kettlebells or dumbbells, or even bodyweight exercises... the focus needs to be on big multi-joint exercises at a high intensity. That means no 5-minute rest periods between sets while you flap your gums with half of the people at the gym.

Losing your belly fat for good requires some focus and intensity in your workouts! Anybody who tells you that you can do it while sitting on your couch watching TV with some "ab-belt" strapped to you, or doing only 2-minutes of crunching with your "ab-rocker-roller" is flat out lying to you!

2) The second important principle to rid yourself of that flabby belly revolves around your nutrition. The first thing you need to realize is that "diets" only work against your body in your effort to lose the stomach fat. You see, if you follow any of these fad diets like low-carb, or low-fat, or the grapefruit diet, the soup diet, or anything else that restricts 1 or more of the macro-nutrients (protein, carbs, and fat), most of the time you will actually lose lean muscle and lower your metabolic rate. This only makes you fatter in the long run, when you start to eat normal again!

I could go into all kinds of details, but essentially you are messing up processes related to your hormonal balance in your body, the muscle glycogen process, insulin, blood sugar, etc., and this stops your fat loss dead in its tracks!

It's important to stop falling for the fad diet gimmicks, and understand that as humans, we are meant to eat a balanced diet full of a diverse array of foods from healthy natural sources of carbohydrates, proteins, AND fats. This gives your body all of the macro-nutrients as well as all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes that your body needs to run as a well-oiled fat-burning machine!

I’ll be posting more on nutrition during the coming weeks.  If you want to get a jump on losing your belly fat fast, Click Here!

Today was not quite as hot as Tuesday.  We had a nice breeze blowing through the side yard where we workout, so even though we added one more rung, we weren't as beat up today as we were on our light day. 

Cameron was in class tonight, so my wonderful wife joined me for our workout.  After completing our warm-ups, we selected our kettlebells and prepared to climb ladders.

Val used her 16 kg for her singles and her 12 kg for her 2,3,and 4 rep sets.  I used my 32 kg for my singles and my 28 kg for my 2,3, and 4 reps sets.  I felt so good with the 32 kg, that on my third, fourth and fifth ladder, I used the 32 kg for my 1 and 2 rep sets, and my 28 kg for my 3 and 4 rep sets. 

Upon finishing our ladders, we rested for 3 or 4 minutes, then launched into our swing.  Today's dice roll dealt us 25 rep swings with 10 second rest periods for 10 minutes.  Val did her 12 kg swings two-handed, while I alternated my 24 kg swings with 25 right (rest 10 seconds) and 25 left for my sets.  This was a good combo for us, and we hit 250 total swings for the 10 minutes.

After my ab work and stretching I jumped into the pool to cool off. 

We have four more ETK workouts to do to complete the program.  This program really does a hell of a job burning the fat off while building strength and endurance (as well as shaping our muscles).  This program is a great all-around fitness model that really produces results.  Try It!

Mitt ben blir långsamt bättre. Starkare, snabbare och rörligare för varje dag, vecka och månad. Om detta beror på att jag mer eller mindre tränar varje dag är svårt att svara på då det lika väl kan vara kroppens naturliga läkningsprocess av nervens skadade delar. Men visst känns det som om man gör stora framsteg med plyometrics eller med den träningstortyr jag utsätter vaden för (Att tvinga en vad), men som sagt, det är svårt att bevisa att just DET gör skillnad. Men å andra sidan har jag ingenting att förlora, bara att vinna då kroppen naturligtvis mår bra av att röra sig på nya och annorlunda sätt. Bara en soffliggare kan ifrågasätta detta eller hävda motsatsen. Det är ju inte helt ovanligt att de som klagar på  att andra tränar för mycket, dagligen har ångest över sitt eget kroppsliga och själsliga förfall.

Benet är en sak, ett resultat av att innehållet i disken mellan L5 och S1 rann ut och förstörde nervbanor till vadmuskulatur och baksidan lår. Den återkommande ländryggsproblematiken en annan, även om de både har med varandra att göra. Ländryggens stelhet på morgonen och lynniga humör resten av dagen år efter år kan knäcka vem som helst. Själva ländryggen var under hösten förvånansvärt bra men gjorde en comeback under våren. Vad detta berodde på är omöjligt att svara på men det enda beteende som jag kan härleda till ländryggen är stillasittande utan träning, men inte i alla fall. Dock är det inte i närheten av de problem jag hade innan själva diskbråcket förra året, nu är det mest en stelhet och ömmande utan smärta.

De huvudsakliga träningsmetoderna för att vinna denna kamp mot ländryggen har varit stretching, ashtanga yoga, balansboll och kettlebellsträning. Kroppen måste börja jobba mer självständigt, helt enkelt. Kroppen har 640 olika skelettmuskler och ibland undrar man om ens tio procent av dessa tränas i ett traditionellt gym där musklerna tränas isolerat och oflexibelt för att vi överhuvudtaget skall orka med ett träningspass. Kroppens muskler är utformade genom evolutionens evinnerliga skapande för att samspela tillsammans, det moderna samhället har fråntagit kroppen denna verklighet och då funkar den inte längre så som den är skapad att fungera. Möjligtvis fixar evolutionen till detta under några tiotusen år från och med nu, och kanske växer till exempel kotorna L4, L5 och S1 ihop genom det naturliga urvalet, men vem har tid att vänta på det?

När man läser en del om kettlebellsträning, som jag gör, dyker det ibland upp att det är bra för ryggen. Kettlebellsträning (som jag framförallt har beskrivit i Om diskbråck och träning - del 2) är bra för ryggen, speciellt vid dess unika grundövningar som swing, snatch och clean (sving, ryck och frivändning) vilka kräver stort engagemang av höft och bålens muskulatur som få andra träningsformer gör. Höften är kroppens medelpunkt, förbindelsen mellan underkropp och överkropp, där alla stora muskler sammanlänkar. Höften används nästan alltid i alla typer av kroppsrörelser men tränas sällan. I just svingen vid kettlebellsträning, ligger stort fokus på höften. När man tränar med kettlebell med en arm tränar man dessutom unilateralt (träning med belastning bara på ena sidan av kroppen) vilket stimulerar de bålstabiliserande musklerna (vilket jag skrivit mer om i Om diskbråck och träning - del 2).

I en artikel på Dragondoor av fysioterapeuten Steve McNamara beskrivs de vetenskapliga rön där man kommit fram till hur de djupa bålstabiliserande musklerna fungerar vid ländryggsproblematik. Artikeln tar framförallt sikte på lite speciella kettlebellsövningar, Jeff Martone’s H2H-övningar (hand-to-hand) där man jonglerar kettlebellen runt kroppen, men Steve McNamara hyllar även kettlebellsträning generellt för att stärka de bålstabiliserande musklerna och plockar fram vetenskapliga bevis som skulle kunna stödja detta.

Att träna samtidigt som man balanserar på ett ostabilt underlag är ultimat när vi har som syfte att träna de bålstabiliserande musklerna, som t.ex. en Bosu eller en Reebok Core board. Att köra med kettlebells på en uppochnedvänd Bosu tränar samtidigt balans, koordination, uthållighet, styrka, ja allt som kroppen är skapad för. När man går till gymmet och ser folk istället sitta i sina maskiner vill man egentligen bara gråta.

Även en balansboll kommer väl till pass vid bålstabilitetsträning. På www.balansboll.nu finns en mängd olika övningar. En punkteringssäker balansboll kostar några hundralappar och är en billig investering för kroppen. Har man tillgång till hantlar kan man t.ex. köra flyes eller hantelpress liggande på balansbollen. Plötsligt måste man spänna hela kroppen och sänka vikten betydligt på hantlarna för att klara av att pressa upp dem nu när man inte isolerar bröstmusklerna med fast och stabil bänk.

Stretching är viktigt. Vid ländryggsproblematik skall man fokusera på höftböjarmuskeln, hamstring och gluteus. En bra bok i ämnet är Stora stretchboken av Kristian Berg som tar upp allt man behöver veta om stretching. Han börjar boken med; ”Det finns två kategorier av människor. De som har ont ryggen och de som kommer att få ont i ryggen.” och jämför nödvändigheten att stretcha med att borsta tänderna vilket inte är livsnödvändigt men där man får en hel del problem i framtiden om man låter bli. Kristian Berg beskriver metodiskt och pedagogiskt hur stretching motverkar problematiken kring förkortade muskler och triggerpunkter.

Under de senaste åren har jag haft ett tilltagande problem med vänster sida av nacken. Saken eskalerade under hösten då min vänsterarm började krångla (skakningar och domningar). Min sjukgymnast på IFK-kliniken lät mig göra några tester med nackrörelser för att se om det var kotrelaterat men det verkade sitta längre ned mot övre kappmuskeln där jag hade ont. Jag noterade ganska tidigt att jag var som stelast på morgonen men då detta var ett vanligt förekommande problem för hela kroppen, speciellt ländryggen, drog jag felaktigt slutsatsen att det hade att göra med kroppens allmänna tillstånd. Det var först när jag också noterade att jag nästan alltid vaknade på magen med huvudet vridet 90 grader till vänster som jag började fundera på om det var nåt annat som inte stämde. Normalt brukar jag sova med en dunkudde som oftast blir ordentligt platt och inte ger det stöd en kudde bör ge och när jag började experimentera med två kuddar märkte jag att nacken var bättre nästa morgon, OM jag inte hade skickat iväg bägge kuddarna på golvet vill säga och låg som brukligt på magen.

För några veckor sedan gick jag och köpte en Tempur sovkudde som jag sneglat på ett tag  Vips efter första natten sov jag på sidan eller ryggen hela natten (en tempurkudde är inte lika lätt att flytta i sömnen så att man kan ligga på magen) och nackproblemet är nu som bortblåst. Det underliga i den här historien är att stelheten i ländryggen inte är lika påtagligt längre. Uppenbarligen mår inte ländryggen bra av att pressas i ett svankläge som när man ligger på magen under en hel natt. Helst skulle man vilja införskaffa en Tempur bäddmadrass men det får vänta.

Av alla söktermer som gör att man hamnar på denna blogg är det just ’diskbråck’ som är det absolut vanligaste, utan konkurrens, och oftast i kombination med ’träning’ eller ’övning’. De fem delarna om diskbråck och träning jag skrivit toppar de mest lästa inlägg på bloggen, även de utan konkurrens. Att folk har problem med ryggen är ju ingen nyhet men förmodligen är många villrådiga och vet inte vad de skall göra och söker desperat efter hjälp på nätet. Jag hoppas att dessa inlägg kan ge inspiration eller ge ett eller annat svar på de helvetes kval många genomlider med sina ryggar och nackar.

Tack för ordet denna gång.

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om diskbråck, ländrygg, ont i rygg, träna, övning, stretcha, kettlebell, yoga, ashtanga, balansboll, plyometrics, sprint, dragondoor, tempur, nacke, stelhet, nervskada, l4, l5, s1

200 swing; 60 kétkezes, 70-70 egykezes
clean-3* press; 10-10 jobb-bal
10-10 halo

Thankfully it was a light day, so we dutifully forged ahead.

Even though we were sweating, we did our three warm-up circuits and then jumped right into our ladders.  Val was feeling fatigued from the heat already and stayed with her 12 kg while I stayed with my 28 kg.

I was glad we were only climbing three ladders, because as we progressed, my form started to deteriorate. By the last two ladders, I really had to focus on the checkpoints for the clean and press:

• Hips first.  On the way down, pull with the hip flexors.  On the way up, drive your hips through.
• Tame the arc.  Keep the bell close to you as opposed to at arms length.  On the way down, pull the kettlebell down and back through your legs like you're hiking a football.  On the way up, pull as if you're starting a lawn mower and pretend that you're cleaning to your waist rather than your shoulder.
• Once you arrive in the "rack" of your clean, tense your glutes and quads, keep your shoulder down and push away from the kettlebell as it travels in an arc to lockout.  Then pull the kettlebell down with your lat until you reach the rack, then "hike" the kettlebell down and back between your legs.

We finished pretty quickly and rested for three minutes before snatching for 12 minutes.  Per our AOS ETK workbook, we snatched 10 Right, 10 left, and rested for one minute for a total of 120 snatches.  Val used her 8 kg for this one, while I dropped to my 24 kg.

I did my Janda and straight-leg sit-ups, we stretched out and finished.

I have the utmost respect for the guys and gals in Iraq who exercise in that blast furnace on a regular basis...

Cpl. Sean P. McGinty / Marine Corps

 http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/05/marine_combatbcp_050708w/

Thank you Marines!