Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout

Just posted up a video preview of my new 21 Fat Burning Kettlebell Workouts program on the main page, thought you might want to check it out …

Quick warning, though: this workout is supposed to be performed AFTER four weeks on the program … you would have ideally built up a nice base of cardio conditioning before attempting it … in other words, it’s hard 🙂

Click the link below to check it out now (you’ll need to scroll down the page a bit to see the video):

=== >> Kettlebell-Circuits.com

Thanks, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, Certified Level II Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor and Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach

Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss – Contest Winners + Special Offer (3 days only)

Huge thanks to everyone who entered the Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss give-away contest.  There were so many great entries, and I’ll be working hard over the coming weeks and months to provide solutions to your workout and diet frustrations …

We did a random drawing to pick the winners – congrats to Dan and Aparne!  Keep an eye out, I’ll be sending you both info on how to grab your free copies of the program shortly.

Now, if you didn’t win, no worries … Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss is now available, and we’re holding a special promotion to kick things off.  You’ll save $10 on your purchase of the full program if you grab your copy before 11:59 pm PST, May 31st, 2012.  That gives you just over two days to take advantage of this awesome deal … click the link below for more details and to order:

=== >> Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss

Thanks, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, Level II Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach

Win A Free Copy of Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss

Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss is coming very soon … and you can win a free copy!

Extreme Kettlebell Fat Loss consists of two components:

1. 21 Fat Burning Kettlebell Cardio Workouts

A workout manual and video series detailing 21 extreme kettlebell cardio workouts. Not for the faint of heart – but if rapid fat loss and extreme cardio conditioning are what you’re after, you’ll love this one …

2. 5 Minute Fat Loss

A manual, video series, and audio program  … walking you through step-by-step how to plan your meals and shed belly fat … 5 minutes at a time!  No meal in this program takes more than 5 minutes to make … and things like planning your days of fat loss eating and making your grocery list will take even less time, because they’re all done for you and included …

So – as an gesture of appreciation to readers of this blog – I’m giving away two free copies of the program.  All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment on this post detailing your number one problem or frustration that’s keeping you from reaching your fitness goal(s).  I’ll have my assistant go through and pick the best two comments so the contest is as fair as possible.  And all I’ll ask for is a little feedback from the winners after they’ve read through the program, watched the videos and tried the workouts themselves.

One catch though – the contest ends 11:59 pm Pacific Time, Monday, May 28th.  So you gotta act quick!  Leave a comment below to get entered to win … and keep an eye on your e-mail inbox to get first word of EKFL’s official release!

The REAL TRUTH About Buying A Kettlebell

Are you currently looking to purchase a kettlebell?

Are you trying to find a ‘bell at the lowest possible price AND the best possible quality?

In today’s post, I’ll reveal the REAL TRUTH about buying a kettlebell … and answer these common kettlebell purchase questions.

See, when I started casually training with kettlebells about five years ago, I didn’t have a clue of what kettlebell brand was the best.  My first kettlebell purchase was – quite embarassingly – a plastic-coated ‘bell from the local super store. The ‘bell was way too light – I had no idea of what size I needed and figured I’d just start with a small one because it was cheap 🙂 – and after a few months of heavy use, the plastic actually started to wear off and the handle started to chip.  Bad first purchase – but live and learn …

(I also didn’t know what the heck I was doing in terms of training techique, but that’s a story for another day …)

The next set of KBs I picked up were significantly better in quality. I’ve had this set for the last five years, still train with them today, and they’re perfectly fine for basic kettlebell use.

Then, at the June ’09 RKC, I trained with a Dragon Door ‘bell for the first time – and could immediately tell the difference.  I still remember doing the 100 rep snatch test and thinking “gosh, this is a little easier than doing this with the ‘bells I have back home” …

The DD ‘bells are balanced better, have a much smoother handle, and have a great quality feel.  HOWEVER – they are a bit more costly that a lot of other brands out there – and whether you really need to invest in them depends on your ultimate training goals …

Here’s the real truth about buying a kettlebell:  if you’re just doing some basic two hand swings and TGU’s, and you won’t be using your ‘bell more than two or three times per week, then you can probably get away with a basic brand and save a few bucks.  On the other hand, if you’re going to be doing more intermediate-to-advanced moves like cleans and snatches … and if you’re going to be using your ‘bell more frequently … you may want to consider going with a high quality KB brand like Dragon Door.

I AM an RKC instructor.  I’m probably biased – I have no problem letting you know this 🙂  And there are lots of kettlebell brands out there I haven’t used.  But my main point of this article is that training with quality kettlebells is important if you’re going to be serious about it – whatever brand you ultimately choose. And I can vouch first hand for the fact that Dragon Door ‘bells are an excellent, reliable, proven, and 365-day-satisfaction-guaranteed(!) choice.

Find out more about Dragon Door kettlebells by clicking here:

=== >> Dragon Door KBs

New! Kettlebell Cardio Blast

This post details a great new kettlebell cardio workout for you … but first, three reasons why I hate traditional, long/slow cardio, and why workouts like this one are superior for fat loss and super-human conditioning:

1) LSD cardio is mind-numbing

Doing 45 minutes of low-to-medium intensity cardio on a stationary bike or treadmill is seriously boring.  That’s why I was excited when I found out that LSD (long-slow-distance cardio) is not the best way to lose fat …

2) It’s unfavorable for “positive” changes in body composition

Perfectly evidenced by the pic above … high-intensity, interval-based cardio is the type of training the individual on the right does on a regular basis … low-intensity, sustained effort training is the type the individual on the left does for his sport.  Which physique would you rather have?  I rest my case 🙂

3) Humans aren’t designed to work this way

To quote Mark Sission of the Primal Blueprint:

Humans were just not designed to work for extended periods of time at 80-90% VO2max. Our evolutionary blueprint, the last draft of which was completed well over 10,000 years ago, set us up as great slow-movers and occasional fast sprinters.

(To read the rest of this article, click here)

So … based on these three reasons to avoid LSD cardio like the plague … here’s a smoker of a cardio kettlebell workout for ‘ya – enjoy!

Video Recap

Kettlebell Cardio “Build Up” Workout

  • Lunge
  • Push Press
  • Pull Up/Row
  • Plank
  • Swing

1st round :20 on/ :10 off … 2nd round :30 on / :10 off … 3rd round :40 on/ :10 off … 5 rounds total, up to :60 on/ :10 off

Enjoy the workout, and keep training hard.  And remember – as you approach the fourth and fifth rounds of the session – buck up.  Hard workouts are part of getting the results you desire.  And pain is simply weakness leaving the body.

Forest Vance, RKC II

PS – AWESOME kettlebell cardio program – with complete workouts like this one, organized into a complete plan – coming for you very soon.  Make sure to sign up for my weekly kettlebell email newsletter to get news of its first release!  To do so now, just drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page.

Kettlebell Swing Form Tips

Do you feel like your form’s not quite right on some (or all) of the basic kettlebell moves?

Does your lower back ache after a KB session?

Time for a “kettlebell form re-set”.  And it all starts with the swing …

As you know, the swing forms the foundation of HardStyle kettlebell training.  Most of the more advanced moves (snatches, cleans, etc.) are built around the swing.

So whether you’re just starting out … or you’ve been training for years with KB’s … this new kettlebell swing form tips video will help you. It’s the progression I take everyone through to learn – or re-enforce the technique basics – of the kettlebell swing.  Enjoy!

(FYI, we’ll be covering tips like these in an in-person, hands-on fashion at my June 2nd Kettlebells For Fat Loss Workshop in Sacramento, CA … click here for more details about that if you’re interested)

Video Recap

What’s up guys, Forest here from KettlebellBasics.net. Today I want to take you through a basic progression if you are learning how to do the swing, or if you are still trying to refine your form. This is the progression I use with every single one of my clients when they are learning the swing and it is really the best way to quickly, easily, effectively get down the motion. So it is going to be a progression, we are going to start with a sumo deadlift, we are going to go to a half swing, and then go to a full swing.

I am just going to demonstrate each exercise for you here.

The first one is going to be your sumo deadlift and what you are going to do is imagine there is a wall behind you. You can actually do this drill with the wall behind you to emphasize hinging at the hips and punching your hips back towards the wall. It’s going to look like this, you are going to start with the bell even with the toes, hinge at the hips, grab the bell, stand up as tall as possible, tap the ground, and you repeat. Do 5 of those. After you have done 5, you are going to continue and now try to touch the bell down, even with the heels. This is the same motion, we are just loading up the hips more now, bringing the bell back further. Now what you are going to do is tighten up. So after you have done 5 and 5, you are going to imagine like you are doing a standing plank; tighten the quads, tighten the glutes, brace abs, chest up shoulders back, flex the triceps totally tight. This is what you are going to feel like at your locked out position in the swing.

We are going to go into a half swing. Hike the bell back and just let the weight fly up. And then, you are going to progress to a full swing. That is your progression, you have your sumo deadlift, your half swing, and your full swing.

So just real quick, a couple of things that can go wrong with this. Number one, make sure the bell isn’t going too close to the ground. So as you swing, a very common mistake is to let the bell go close to the ground here. Hold the bell tight to the body as it swings back, imagine you are throwing the bell through stomach and getting your hips out of the way at the last minute. Number two thing, is make sure you are not doing a squat and front raise, make sure you aren’t squating and raising, but hike pass and then you are snapping the hips, letting the weight fly up at the top. Those are two really common mistakes that I see. The third one is to make sure you aren’t overextending at the top and leaning back. Make sure you hike pass the weight back and finish your swing standing straight up and down.

So there is your basic swing progression and a couple of mistakes to watch for. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time at KettlebellBasics.net.

In summary, mastering the kettlebell swing is key – no matter what your current kettlebell expertise level or eventual fitness goals.  The video above covers the basic progression I use with all my kettlebell training clients to learn – or re-enforce technique basics – with the kettlebell swing.

Train hard and talk soon –

Forest Vance, Certified Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor

PS – For more details about our upcoming Kettlebells For Fat Loss Workshop in Sacramento, CA – and to reserve your spot while they’re still available … click here

Best Kettlebell Challenge Workouts

You'll LOVE these kettlebell challenge workouts

You’ve got an EPIC kettlebell session planned for the day and want to make sure you’re feeling great and firing on all cylinders … here’s the pre-workout scene:

It’s two hours ’till kettlebell time.  You have your standard pre-workout meal with just the right balance of protein and carbs.  Time to start getting your mind right for the workout ahead …

Finish up work for the day and KB time’s almost here.  You slam down your pre-workout supplement mix, change clothes and head to the training center …

Walk in the door, throw on your favorite workout tunes and you’re ready to rock.  You get a PERFECT warm-up, including some foam rolling, joint mobility, and dynamic stretching … and it’s time for the main event!

Now you’re fired up and ready to hit your best kettlebell challenge workout ever!  I do workouts like these every month at my Sacramento kettlebell gym, and they’re hard to beat for shocking the body and building mental toughness.  Give one (or all) of the workouts below a go and kick your results into overdrive:

Kettlebell Challenge Workouts

    1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ZaXcWbl9c
      1. This challenge has four circuits with five exercises each.  There should be no rest between the exercises and your goal is to do each circuit in less than three minutes.
    2. http://www.myomytv.com/new-remember-the-love-500-rep-kettlebell-challenge/
      1. This is a 500 rep challenge with ten exercises, fifty reps each, with as little rest as possible between the exercises.  You are not allowed to move onto the next exercise until you have completed fifty reps.
      2. (Challenge 2, same creator) http://www.ptgear.co.uk/fitness-news/kettlebell-workout-500-rep.html
        1. This is a 500 rep challenge with ten exercises, fifty reps per exercise.  Just as Marianne demonstrates in her other challenge, you must complete all fifty reps prior to moving onto the next exercise.
    3. http://hostyleconditioning.com/hostyle-300-kettlebell-challenge/
      1. With 300 reps total, this challenge incorporates everything from swings to halos.  In order to see your progress, you should do this challenge every month or so and attempt to beat your initial time.
    4. http://www.trainingroomonline.com/2011/07/12/heres-your-weekly-kettlebell-challenge/
      1. This challenge has a great (and difficult) kettlebell warm-up to lead you into a 300 rep challenge.  You are trying to shoot for a low time with the challenge so the key is speed and proper form.
      2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpbM9nzDcM  Here is a sample video demonstrating the exercises above.  Instead of squat thrusts, it includes the full on burpee.  You may choose to modify with the squat thrust, or do a complete burpee.
    5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYpAzZRnhcY
      1. This challenge incorporates cleans, jerks, and snatches.  You are going for time with five reps on each side.

The kettlebell challenge workouts in this article are a great starting point for keeping your current kettlebell routine fresh and testing your mental toughness.  Thanks for reading, train hard and talk soon –

Forest Vance
Level II Certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor

PS – I’ll be holding an in-person, one day kettlebell workshop in about a month in the Sacramento, CA area … if you can make it out, we’d love to have you.  Keep an eye on your email inbox for exact details about class time and location!