Reverse Aging, Reduce Pain, and Restore Lost Vigor with The Kettlebell Boomer

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been making an effort to get feedback from you – my regular readers and e-mail subscribers – and it’s been incredibly helpful. One of the things I’ve discovered is that there are quite a few of you interested in and actively training with kettlebells that are over the age of 50. And a lot of you have asked for specific program recommendations …

‘The Kettlebell Boomer’ with Master RKC, Andrea Du Cane is a 2 hour and 50 minute DVD designed exactly with you – and your specific goals – in mind.  Here’s a little clip from the sales copy on DragonDoor.com:

“Nothing ages us faster than the lack of regular, effective exercise. Muscles melt away, bones go brittle, posture stoops, skin sags, flab hangs and joints creak. Pain, fear and fatigue become our constant companions.

The less you exercise, the faster you decline. However, not all exercise is created equal. Many forms of exercise may at best put you in a holding pattern, while other forms of exercise might even exacerbate your health issues.

The good news is that there is one form of exercise which can give you immeasurable health benefits, whatever your age. Regular, well-designed kettlebell workouts may not only reverse many symptoms of aging, but will actively contribute to building your strength and power well into your 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s …

Andrea Du Cane’s Kettlebell Boomer presents a complete De-Aging Masterplan, that gives everyone from the raw novice to the experienced athlete an opportunity to defy physical decline and hone themselvesósafely, simply and progressivelyóinto the muscular, energetic, magnetic specimens they deserve to be.

Kettlebell Boomer provides everything you need to start training with kettlebells with full instruction plus follow-along workouts. You will discover two main workouts, one with a strength focus and the other cardio. Watch four different people doing the workout, each representing a different level. Pick the right level for you and follow that person through the entire workout. Or you can switch between levels for different exercises.

Bonus sections cover warm-ups, joint mobility, balance and stability to ensure your anti-aging kettlebell program covers all the essential elements for a long, active, safe and pain-free life. Enjoy!”

Andrea covers many of the basics a lot of folks don’t address – what size kettlebell to start with, the best type of footwear for training with kettlebells, and as mentioned above, balance and stability drills to get you started right with your kettlebell training from the very beginning.  Check out this preview of the DVD:

Andrea Du Cane was one of the Master RKC’s at the RKC certification I took two year ago. She’s a great instructor and I highly recommend this program if you’re looking for one specific to your workout needs and you’re over the age of 50.  For more info about the program and to pick up a copy (as far as I know, the only place you can order it is on DragonDoor.com), click the banner below:

The Kettlebell Boomer How to Defy Aging and Be a Human Dynamo Throughout Your Senior Years—Thanks to Kettlebells

‘Till next time –

Forest Vance, RKC

P.S. Have you signed up for my weekly email newsletter yet? You’ll get a FREE copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training when you do so now … just drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page to sign up today!

The Turkish Get Up (broken down into steps)

The Turkish getup, along with the kettlebell swing, forms the foundation of HardStyle kettlebell training. It is, however, a tricky exercise to master –

Here is a video (this is a clip from my premium kettlebell workouts mega-bundle package, by the way) that breaks the Turkish Get Up down into easier-to-digest steps – check it out:

Video Recap

1. Start the move lying on your side with the kettlebell at your shoulder. Pull the ‘bell into your frame, roll to your back, and punch the KB up towards the ceiling.

2. If you are on your right side, your right heel will be tucked up to your right glute. Your left leg will go out slightly at an angle along with your left arm.

3. Now, drive through the right heel and punch up towards the ceiling. Straighten out the bottom arm so you are supporting your weight with your bottom arm completely outstretched.

4. Drive the hips towards the ceiling, come up to a bridge position, and bring the foot through the hips. Shoot to get the knee that’s coming thru to land right by the hand that’s on the ground.

5. Come up to your lunge position and get set. Brace the abs, make sure the bicep is directly by the ear and the shoulder supporting weight of kettlebell is tight and stabilized. Stand up!

I hope this video helps you refine your technique in the tricky-to-master kettlebell Turkish Get Up exercise. Talk to you soon –

Forest

P.S. To learn more about the Kettlebell Basics Premium Workout Mega Bundle I mentioned earlier in the article, click here

P.P.S. If you’d like to get kettlebell training tips and tricks like this one delivered to your email inbox every week – AND get a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training – please sign up for my email newsletter by dropping your name and best email into the box at the upper right hand corner of the page!

Cool Kettlebell Juggling Videos

Today’s post is a bit of a change of pace – I typically cover the basics of kettlebell training on this blog and focus mostly on the mastery and variations of the ‘big 5’ kettlebell exercises (the swing, turkish get up, goblet squat, clean and press, and snatch).

There’s no denying that folks are doing all kinds of crazy stuff with kettlebells outside of these fundamental drills (some good, some bad – but that’s a discussion for another day 🙂 ).  And once you’ve learned and mastered the basics, incorporating some advanced drills like the ones covered in these videos can help ‘kick start’ you out of a training plateau and keep your workouts interesting.  I hope you enjoy these videos I’ve hand-picked from YouTube that showcase some unique kettlebell training methods:

Kettlebell Lifting Team Footage

Think anything you can do with a kettlebell you can do with a dumbbell? This video will make you think again:

Kettlebell Juggling – Jeff Martone

Jeff Martone is an awesome kettlebell instructor – he’s a former RKC guy who is now involved with CrossFit. In this video, he shows some of the kettlebell juggling stuff he’s gained notoriety for:

Beginner Kettlebell Juggling Moves

In this video from Australian Kettlebells, some basics of kettlebell juggling are covered – good starting point if you’re looking to incorporate some beginner kettlebell juggling exercises into your workouts:

I hope you enjoyed these kettlebell juggling videos and that they give you some ideas to take your KB workouts to the next level. Keep training hard and talk to you soon!

Forest Vance, RKC

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for my email list, please make sure to do so now – you’ll get a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training as a free gift when you enroll! Just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right hand corner of the page.

Dragon Door Kettlebells Review (part two)

Authentic RKC Kettlebells

About a year ago when I first started this site, I did a review on Dragon Door kettlebells. Now, a couple thousand personal and client kettlebell training hours later, I thought I’d do a follow-up on my original Dragon Door review post. Enjoy – and would love to hear your feedback when you’re done reading!

-Forest

Here’s how I opened the ‘first edition’ of my Dragon Door kettlebell review post:

“If you’ve shopped around for kettlebells at all, you’ve probably found that there are a lot of different brands out there at a wide range of different prices. I’ve personally used quite a few different brands of kettlebells, and I can tell you firsthand – there’s a difference! I’m going to give you a few tips on your purchase, and also explain why a quality ‘bell – particularly a Dragon Door kettlebell – is worth the extra investment.”

I made this statement after training with the Dragon Door ‘bells for about six months. About a year and a half later, I feel exactly the same way. However, I do have two additional very important points to make

1. Difference in Kettlebell Brands – Build + Feel

I’ve had the opportunity to train with – and actually own the odd pair of – other brands of kettlebells now. There is definitely a difference between the brands, if anything just the ‘feel’ of training with them.

As an example, the Apollo brand kettlebells that I own have a larger handle and a rubber stopper on the bottom. My Go Fit kettlebells have a rubber coating on the actual ‘bell. And I have a couple other off-brand KB’s that have another different feel entirely.

2. Kettlebell Training Level Should Dictate Quality Need

Second, I think that if you are just going to be doing two-handed swings, goblet squats, turkish get ups, and other very basic kettlebell drills, the brand doesn’t really make that much difference. Drills like these are not overly abrasive on your hands, they don’t require rotation of the ‘bell in your hand, and the balancing of the actual ‘bell is not super important . In short, at this level of kettlebell training, quality is not a huge factor.

Now, if at some point you envision yourself getting into doing more advanced kettlebell work, such as cleans, presses, snatches, etc., smoothness of the handle, balancing of the ‘bell and that kind of thing become very important.

For example, if you’re doing 100 snatches in 5 min., there is some serious friction happening on your hands. If you’re doing it with a lesser quality KB, you can count on tearing your hands up pretty quick. And if it’s not balanced properly, it makes the exercise much more awkward and forces you to actually work harder than you have to.

Look, I know that the majority of folks are just going to try and buy the cheapest kettlebell they can find. Which is cool – it’s a free country, you can buy whatever kettlebell brand you want 🙂 My main point is that with kettlebells – as you do with life – you tend to get what you pay for. So if you are just looking for some kettlebells to do some very light exercises, then pretty much any brand will do. But if you are currently or at some point looking into doing more advanced kettlebell training, you’ll want to spend some time and make sure that the ‘bells you invest in are high-quality enough to meet your on-going training standards.

Good luck in your kettlebell search!

Forest Vance, MS, RKC

P.S Click the link below for more details about Dragon Door kettlebells:

Dragon Door Kettlebells

26 Free Kettlebell Workouts

kettlebell routines
The best kettlebell routines from KettlebellBasics.net

This post:

Kettlebell Routines

Has been the most popular post of all time on KettlebellBasics.net.

It lists out every one of the kettlebell workouts I’ve posted since I started this site about a year and a half ago … and given that it continues to get over one thousand views every month, I try to go back and update it as often as I can.

I just got finished adding a bunch of new routines to the list, and it’s now up to 26! So click the link below to head over and check it out for some new kettlebell training ideas:

http://kettlebellbasics.net/2010/05/25/kettlebell-routines/

Keep lifting hard and talk to you soon!

Forest Vance, RKC

P.S. Make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter if you haven’t yet … you’ll get new kettlebell workouts just like these delivered straight to your email inbox every week, PLUS a free copy of my ‘Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training’ just for signing up! Drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right hand corner of the page to do so now.