“Throwback” Beat the Clock KB/BW Workout

by admin on June 14, 2013

Today, I have a workout for you from the FVT “vault”. I used this set up for a full program I wrote a while back (we have a few workouts like it in the FVT Coaching Club) – but for some reason got away from using it in the training session programming as of late …

This workout set up is really cool. It’s kind of sneaky – in that it seems easy for the first few minutes, and then it creeps up on ‘ya …

And it’ll get ‘ya an amazing cardio workout – without having to do cardio in a “traditional” sense.

Okay, let’s break it down, so you can give it a go:

 

“Beat the Clock” KB/BW Workout

 

  • Set your timer for 45 second intervals.
  • Perform exercise one in the squence for prescribed number of reps.
  • Your rest period is the time between when you’re finished with your set and the next interval starts.
  • For example … first interval = 15 push ups. Do your 15 push ups. If you can crank ‘em out in 20 seconds, you get 25 seconds before you have to start your next set. If it takes you 40 seconds to do your push ups, that’s okay too – but you only get five seconds of rest before you have to move on to the next exercise.
  • Do three rounds of each sequence before resting.

 

Sequence One

  • 15 push ups
  • 20 squat jumps
  • 15 KB see saw presses (two KB’s at once – press one up while the other comes down – like a see-saw)
  • 8 reverse lunges each leg with KB in goblet position

 

Sequence Two

  • 15 inverted rows/beginner pull ups (with suspension trainer or Smith machine, etc.)
  • 15 squats with KB in goblet position
  • 20 two hand KB swings
  • 10 burpess (no push up)

Give that KB/BW Beat the Clock workout a go, and let me know how you do.

And, if you are looking for more new, interesting, and fun KB/BW workouts just like it …

=> Check out the new-and-improved-for-2013 FVT Coaching Club here

 

That’s it for today. Hope you have an awesome weekend, and talk soon -

Forest

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Kettlebell Workouts for Abs – the Rack Walk

by admin on June 6, 2013

Looking for a rockin’ kettlebell workout for abs?

Meet the KB rack walk.

Got a new video for you from friend and fellow KB instructor Chris Lopez.  He does a GREAT job explaining in detail exactly why this move is so great for your abs … he gives us some fantastic coaching cues to get the most out of it … and he shows how to best incorporate it into our workouts.  Check it out:

*If you liked this video, make sure to check out Chris’s new follow-along video based KB workout program – he’s got a special sale going this week for loyal FVT readers just like you:

>> Click here to grab Chris’s new Kettlebell Evolution program at your special FVT discount <<

Thanks, and talk soon -

Forest

PPS - I am so excited about this new Kettlebell Evolution program, I am going to throw in a copy of my PreHab warm up video series and special report, when you grab a copy this week during Chris’s special sale.

 

This video series is a great compliment to Chris’s program.  When you’re in need of an extended warm-up, when you’re extra sore from your last workout, when you have specific problem areas that need work, this will provide you with the perfect solution.  It details and walks you through the research-backed and field-tested best way to prep for your workouts.

This video series and report isn’t currently available by itself anywhere else at ANY price.  But, I am going to give it to you – FREE – when you grab a copy of the new Kettlebell Evolution program on my recommendation.

Simply forward your Clickbank purchase receipt to fvtraininfo (at) gmail.com, and we’ll send you a copy of my PreHab Warm Up program, ASAP!!

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Swing Less to Burn More

by admin on June 4, 2013

I’m not sure if you know this, but the kettlebell swing could be THE most time efficient and effective exercise for fat loss.

In a study published by the American Council on Exercise and conducted by exercise scientists at the University of Wisconsin, researchers found that participants burned an average of 20 calories per minute doing a standard kettlebell snatch (which is an exercise whose foundation is the kettlebell swing).

That’s 400 calories over a 20 minute period.

That’s equivalent to running a 6-minute-mile pace over a 20 minute period.

These researchers found that both the male & female subjects increased their strength, power and athleticism in addition to their cardio capacity.

BUT, The most mind-boggling result of the study was that the participants increased their abdominal core strength by a whopping 70%!!!

They didn’t do crunches, they didn’t do sit ups, they didn’t even do planks.

All they did was snatch a kettlebell – a full body movement that works every muscle in your body.

BUT, there’s a bit of an issue with the way most people approach their kettlebell training that could be hindering their results.

In today’s article, my friend and certified kettlebell instructor, Chris Lopez, explains how you should alter your kettlebell swing to maximize fat burning … that actually involves you DOING LESS!

=====================================

Swing Less to Burn More

by: Chris Lopez, CTT, SFGII
author, Kettlebell Evolution

My wife has decided that she wants to train to get her Level 1 SFG Kettlebell Certification.

That involves her snatching a 12kg kettlebell 100 times within 5 minutes…among other things.

Having gone through the process before, I know what it takes, but it’s not so much about grit and determination as much as it’s about MASTERY and PRACTICE.

We’ve tweaked her program a little and I’m really focusing on helping her dial in her form now…and since she lives with a pretty good instructor (that’d be me, folks), she’s intent on listening.

One morning during her regular training session she was going through a set of kettlebell swings when I stopped her to make one really IMPORTANT change to her technique (and her mentality to when she approaches her swing training).

You see, she was chasing reps.

(“Chasing reps” means just going, regardless of form with no respect for what you’re doing, just to get to “that number”. Bad news, because that’s when people usually end up getting hurt.)

It was obvious because she was huffing & puffing, her shoulder was disconnected with the rest of her body and her kettlebell – which provides incredible feed back – was wobbly on the finish.

After further investigation, it was because she was following what seemed like a logical progression, but she wasn’t at that level yet.

Confused? Here’s what I mean…

Her program required her to do 10 x 1-arm swings per side at the top of every minute. So every time the clock hit :00, she would start her set. Then when she was done, she would rest for the remainder of the minute. Her protocol was to do that for 10 minutes.

But, like I said, she was chasing reps.

So I had her cut down to 8 swings per side and changed grip and her shoulder started to look more packed and her swing got stronger.

But still, it wasn’t right.

So we dropped it down to 6 per side and I asked her to focus on breathing “through her abs” on her finish giving a powerful “tsssshup” as the kettlebell and her arm reached parallel to the ground.

On the finish, she focused on rooting by locking her knees out, squeezing her butt, bracing her abs and dropping her shoulders down and back.

And then I asked her to fire her lat and throw the kettlebell through her knees on the back swing.

Guess what happened?

A more powerful and fluid swing with VISIBLE moments of tension & relaxation – just like a wave.

What she also noticed was that even though I cut her volume by 40% (remember she went from 10 per side to 6 per side), she felt like her cardiovascular system was more challenged than when she was doing 10.

Read that again please…

We cut her training volume by 40%, but the INTENSITY increased.

We got her better results by DOING LESS reps.

Why? Because we focused more on being connected with the kettlebell.

And even though she felt more cardiovascularly challenged, she was doing less and therefore had MORE TIME to rest between sets.

This resulted in high intensity sets EVERY TIME she performed the swings.

So now, she can build her cardiovascular system with more intense swings. She’s at 6 now, but in a few weeks she’ll be back at 10 but with a more intense, powerful swing.

So let’s sum up the lessons here…

1. Don’t chase reps. If you focus on your form, you can get that intensity you want AND become more powerful and stronger in the process.
2. Treat the kettlebell like an extension of your body. It’s not external resistance like a dumbbell.
3. Be patient. Progress logically, but don’t be afraid to take a step back to dial things in properly. Remember, PRACTICE, don’t “workout”

=====================================

Great stuff, Chris.

No wonder when people start training with kettlebells properly they not only seem to lose a ton of fat, but they get stronger and more powerful too.

PRACTICE, don’t “work out”, folks!

- Forest Vance, MS, RKC II

 

PS - Don’t forget that Chris’s BRAND NEW Kettlebell Evolution Advanced Fat Loss Program is on sale only for YOU, a loyal FVT fan, at the ridiculously low price of $37 (it’s going to be $97 regular price).

Pick it up BEFORE it expires on Friday please.

==> Pick up the BRAND NEW Kettlebell Evolution Advanced Fat Loss Program for $37 HERE (link expires in 2 days)

 

PPS - I am so excited about this program, I am going to throw in a copy of my PreHab warm up video series and special report, when you grab a copy this week during Chris’s special sale.

 

This video series is a great compliment to Chris’s program.  When you’re in need of an extended warm-up, when you’re extra sore from your last workout, when you have specific problem areas that need work, this will provide you with the perfect solution.  It details and walks you through the research-backed and field-tested best way to prep for your workouts.

This video series and report isn’t currently available by itself anywhere else at ANY price.  But, I am going to give it to you – FREE – when you grab a copy of the new Kettlebell Evolution program on my recommendation.

Simply forward your Clickbank purchase receipt to fvtraininfo (at) gmail.com, and we’ll send you a copy of my PreHab Warm Up program, ASAP!!

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Proper Kettlebell Rack Position – A Quick How-To

by admin on May 30, 2013

It’s hard to get too much practice in the basics of any skill or discipline. Kettlebell training included.

See, what often happens is that people move forward and try to progress in their practice before they’re actually ready.  And out of this, all sorts of problems arise.

Today’s video covers the proper kettlebell rack position – something very basic, but also VERY critical to your ultimate training success.  Check it out – I bet you’ll learn something new, even if you’ve been training with KB’s for a while:

,

Video Recap

Proper Kettlebell Rack Position – A Quick How-To

Getting into a proper kettlebell rack position is something that a lot of people mess up and don’t really know how to do and get into properly.

This is a foundational kettlebell training skill that you MUST get down to get the most out of your training, and stay injury-free.

So, two ways you can get the kettlebell up to the rack position. Number one, you can do a clean, which we won’t cover in detail in this video. Or, if you are just getting started, what I recommend you do is what we call a “cheat curl”. Grab your ‘bell, and simply cheat curl it up to your shoulder.

Now what we are going to cover is the rack position. What we have here are three checkpoints. My thumb is touching my collarbone, my forearm is straight up and down, and the kettlebell is touching the forearm and the upper arm. My shoulder is nice and square, I have a little tension in the glutes, a little tension in the abs and the ‘bell is close in to the body. It isn’t out in what we call the broken arm position. It’s like I’m blocking a punch and the elbow is closer to the frame. So this is what we need to get a solid base for doing our pressing or doing something like a windmill that’s how we’ll get the ‘bell up there. Even sometimes if we’re going to do snatches that’s where we might start. You can even do Turkish get ups and do presses from different positions in the get up. But it all starts with getting a good rack position.

So hopefully that’s helpful for you in getting into proper kettlebell rack position. Practice that and get a feel for it before you move and start doing cleans or other exercises.

 

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter and grab your FREE Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training!  Just drop your best email address into the box at the upper right of the page to get it now.

And – if you know someone who might enjoy this info – please don’t hesitate to pass it along :)

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Ben’s Kettlebell Training Problem (and how we solved it)

by admin on May 23, 2013

The other day, one of my private training clients, let’s call him “Ben”, came to me with a gripe.

He LOVED the results he has been getting from our kettlebell workouts. But his complaint was that we were doing too much of the same thing. We have been working on the same routine for about three weeks, and he was getting a little bored.

Now, as a fitness professional, I know what is best for Ben and his goals – and that is to stick with the same program framework for at least a couple more weeks. He has been making progress, and has not hit a plateau, so there is no reason to switch things up. He just needs to get tough :)

BUT – I also am very careful to listen to my clients, and I want to do my best to keep them happy, having fun, etc. So we decided to introduce some of what Pavel calls “same-but-different” programming into the mix. We stuck with the same basic workout framework, but did variations of some of our exercises to change things up and keep them interesting. This was a great solution for Ben. He started enjoying his workouts again, and in fact started making even FASTER progress because of it!!

 

If you can dig this idea, you’ll LOVE this:

=> Get three new “same-but-different” workouts every week (deal expires)

 

For this approach to work though, you have to do it in a very specific way. You can’t just go substituting exercises willy-nilly. You have do switch out and progress to moves that are “same-but-different”.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say that your workout calls for a kettlebell press. What you can do is different versions of this press.

So let’s say that the first day of your routine calls for a double kettlebell press.  You’re doing your double press as part of a superset or by itself or whatever. There are all kinds of variations you can do of those presses.

One variation is an alternating press.

You can do alternating double kettlebell presses.  

You can also do, for example, a see-saw press. That’s where you take both of your ‘bells and one is coming down and the other one is getting pressed up. That’s one of my favorite press variations right there.  That’s a tough one.

Another option is a walking see-saw press. So you do that see-saw press but you take a small step forward, press on the right, take a small step forward and press on the left. Repeat that for reps.

You can use this concept with MANY exercises.

Another good example is with kettlebell swings. You could be doing two handed swings, one hand swings and hand-to-hand swings.

You can do it with body weight exercises. For example you can do squat thrusts which is like a burpee without a push up or a jump. You could do a burpee without the push up. You can do a burpee with a push up.

This simple concept can make a HUGE difference in your training.  I use it in my personal workout planning as well as with my training clients on a daily basis, and it works great.  I hope you can dig it and work it in to your programming to see some increased results!

Train hard, and talk soon -

Forest

 

PS - If you liked this article, you’ll LOVE this:

=> Get three new “same-but-different” workouts every week (deal expires)

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Kettlebell Partner Workout

May 22, 2013

I just shot a quick video for you with some new and unique kettlebell partner workout exercises to try. These will straight-up smoke you out – and I’m willing to bet that you’ve never tried doing these exercises – in this exact way – EVER before. Whether you are training by yourself or with someone else, you’ll [...]

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How to Keep Your Body Weight and Kettlebell Workouts Interesting

May 19, 2013

So I am always preaching about the benefits of sticking with the same workout plan for a period of time, and not changing things up too often.  However, I also am fully aware of the potential resistance to this concept.  That you probably want to change your workouts up frequently and keep them interesting, for [...]

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Different Forms of Kettlebell Snatch Tests

May 14, 2013

Guest post for you today from new friend of mine and “physical culture renaissance man” Logan Christopher.   Different Forms of Kettlebell Snatch Tests by Logan Christopher, co-host, June 15th  FVT Kettlebell Workshop   If you’ve been lifting kettlebells for awhile, it’s likely that you’re familiar with one form or another of the snatch test. The [...]

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#1 Cause of Kettlebell Training Injury?

May 2, 2013

I am SO sick of people making this training mistake.  It could very well be the #1 cause of kettlebell training injury. If anyone made this crucial error at the RKC – which, unfortunately, they did – our chief instructor made us ALL do 50 penalty burpees. Although the burpees sucked, I think it was [...]

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Kettlebell Strength Q&A

April 21, 2013

Hope you are having a FANTASTIC weekend. The weather is great here in Northern California, perfect for an outdoor workout. I am about to head out for a quick KB session and bike ride, but before I do – I have been getting a lot of questions about my new Hybrid Kettlebell Strength program. So, [...]

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