I’m going to do a recap and “top 10 take-aways” list from last Saturday’s Sacramento Kettlebell Workshop here in just a sec … but first, have a quick look at this footage –

I got “challenged” to do one of my kettlebell combos with my biggest KB – and my wife caught it on film! Check it out:

 

Okay, enough of that 😉 –

Every time we hold a kettlebell workshop at the studio, it gets a little bit better … and I think Saturday’s event was no exception.

This time around, we had folks come in from over 100 miles away – which was a first! – we made it a two-session, optional full – day (five hour) event, which was also a first – and most importantly, I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had teaching one of these.  So thanks again to all who attended.

There were so many things that I ended up covering, that I wanted to share with those of you at home who couldn’t make it out –

So, I thought I would put together a quick list of the top 10 highlights of the day, based on initial feedback –

 

1 – Kettlebell footwear tips

One important point I covered was what kind of footwear to use when you’re training with kettlebells.

I covered this topic in depth in a post on this blog some time back; if you missed it, check it out again here:

=> 5 Reasons Why You Should Train Barefoot

 

2 – What size kettlebell to use

This is something I haven’t covered at previous workshops, but realized that it was an important thing a lot of beginner KB users are struggling with. Check out this video to for some tips:

=> What size kettlebell to use (video)

 

3 – History of the kettlebell

I added a fun little intro piece about the history of the kettlebell, and folks told me that they enjoyed it. Here is some info for you, from Wikipedia:

=> History of the kettlebell

 

4 – Simple warm up

A simple kettlebell warm up that you can use any time, to get ready for a great KB workout:

• KB sumo deadlift – 8 reps
• KB halo – 8 each way
• ‘pumps’
• repeat 2-3 times total

This warm up, by the way, is from Enter the Kettlebell by Pavel:

=> Get Enter the Kettlebell

 

5 – Box squat/vertical jump/towel swing progression

A couple of drills, that are great to help you learn the fundamentals of the kettlebell swing.

First is the box squat – practicing sitting back on to a box/bench/etc. – and learning how to move through the hips.

Then, you progress to the same movement, but jump out of the bottom – to simulate the explosiveness of a swing.

Finally, the towel swing is done with a towel inside the handle of the KB – this is a separate drill, but it teaches you to use your lower body, in the way that you learned to in the box squat progression – and then you can put everything together and improve your swing technique!

(This one came from Enter the Kettlebell as well.)

 

6 – Simple three step TGU progression

This is the Turkish Get Up, broken down into its simplest steps.

• The pick up – roll to the side, pick the KB up off the floor
• The 1/2 get up – the movement performed up to the hip bridge position
• The full get up – the movement performed to the full standing position

Here is an article and video breaking down the full Turkish Get Up progression for you:

=> How to do the Turkish Get Up

 

7 – Pull up progression

I covered some tips to help you do more pull ups – which are an amazing complimentary move to your kettlebell training. You can find some great pull up tips in these two articles:

=> How to do more pull ups fast
=> “Controlled cheating” for more pull ups

 

8 – KB clean tip(s)

The technique tip on the kettlebell clean that I think helped everyone the most was to use less hip snap than you would in a swing.

See this tip broken down in more detail in this video:

=> Kettlebell clean tips

 

9 – Power breathing

We did a series of really cool power breathing drills, and a lot of folks ended up setting pressing PR’s.

See these covered in more detail in The Naked Warrior by Pavel:

=> The Naked Warrior by Pavel

 

10 – Swing => high pull => snatch progression

This progression seemed to help attendees get the feel for the snatch exercise the most.  It is broken down into detail in this post/video series:

=> Learn the KB snatch

 

All in all, it was an awesome day. I had a ton of fun teaching it, and want to say thanks again to everyone who made it out.

If you missed this workshop, I hope to see you at the next one! And, in the meantime, don’t forget – the next best thing is to grab one of my “flagship” programs, here:

=> The Kettlebell Basics Swing Manual
=> The 10×10 Kettlebell Solution

 

Thanks again for reading, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II