Tag: getting started

My Favorite Kettlebell Training Resources

On By adminIn General, Product Reviews, Tips and TricksLeave a comment

Quality kettlebell training advice can be hard to come by- here’s a short list of resources I’ve used to build my kettlebell knowledge over time – I hope you find it useful:

DragonDoor.com

The premier source of kettlebell training info. Pavel Tsatsouline, the man behind The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Enter The Kettlebell, Return of The Kettlebell and lots of other books from Dragon Door, is largely responsible for popularizing kettlebell training in the U.S.

Enter The Kettlebell by Pavel

The best book, in my opinion, on getting started with kettlebell training. Keeps things basic for you, and Pavel has a both highly effective and highly entertaining way of teaching.  A must have for your KB training library.  The Enter The Kettlebell DVD is also a great tool.

YouTube

A good resource with a lot of good stuff – and a lot of bad. I might sound a little like I’m condradicting myself after this post – the rule is to use YouTube at your own risk and, after looking at all the other resources I recommend here, use your knowledge as a ‘filter’ and decide what’s good and what’s not.

The CrossFit Journal

This is, at $25 a year, one of the best investments you can make in furthering your general training knowledge.   I know the jury is out on CrossFit (I wrote a post about this recently on The Fitness Monster, in fact – you can check it out here), but I think their journal is an awesome resource. There’s not only a lot of kettlebell info here – much of it from Jeff Martone, a former RKC guy – but lots and lots more on every imaginable topic.

Viking Warrior Conditioning

This is a killer book if you’re looking to improve your conditioning.  A word of warning: the program is hard 🙂  But if you can survive, you’ll probably get into the best shape of your life.

Another cool thing is that Kenneth Jay, author of Viking Warrior Conditioning, has extensive research that he’s performed himself to back up what he’s saying.

Return of The Kettlebell

What to do once you’re done with Enter The Kettlebell.  Covers advanced kettlebell training methods, most notably double kettlebell drills in detail – again, don’t even think about it until you’ve completed the Rite of Passage!

MikeMahler.com

Another former RKC guy, has an awesome free e-book on kettlebell training you get for signing up for his newsletter. Also has a ton of training dvd’s and holds various workshops across the country. Highly recommended.

ArtofStrength.com

Great YouTube channel, Art of Strength and Punch Kettlebell Gym is headed by Anthony DiLugo, who got his start with the RKC – seeing a common theme here?

There you have it – a short list of kettlebell training resources that should keep you busy for a while! This list is by no means exhaustive – in fact, feel free to leave links to your favorite places to find kettlebell training info in the comments section.

Keep training hard!!

Kettlebell Training: The Great Equalizer

On By adminIn General, Tips and TricksLeave a comment

There’s this guy that works out at the same gym as I do. I see him there every day mid-afternoon and he’s getting after it, throwing the weights around, training chest and biceps four times a week.

His passion and intensity level is inspiring; but I also know, because he’s a nice guy and I talk to him almost every day, that he wants to lose fat. And I know that there’s probably a more effective way to go about doing it than his current training system – to say the least.

My almost daily exposure to this spectacle has got me thinking: kettlebell training is like the ‘great equalizer’. Take someone who thinks they’re training hard, who’s training using this body part split, bodybuilding style workout, and have them do swings for 10 or 15 minutes. I’ve done it lots of times, and I know that this person gets smoked 9 times out of 10. In fact, most times they can’t make it the full 15 minutes.

On the other hand, I have female clients who are under 130 pounds that can do more swings and squats with a 24 kilo (53 pound) kettlebell than most men.

The point is, kettlebell training has a tendency of evening the playing field. If you think you’re in good shape, get someone who knows what they’re talking about to teach you the basics (or at the very least pick up a copy of the KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide) and give kettlebell training a try.

And to help you learn more about the basics of training with kettlebells, here are a few posts from the archives to get you going:

The Swing

The Get Up

A Beginner Kettlebell Workout

Keep training hard!

How To Fix Your Kettlebell Clean

On By adminIn Basic Kettlebell Drills, Tips and Tricks6 Comments

One of the hardest basic kettlebell exercises to master is the kettlebell clean. Although you’re more than likely to end up with a sore forearm while you’re perfecting your form on this exercise, there are a few points you can focus on to improve your technique fast. Check out this video for three coaching tips:

Don’t forget: you’ve got until 11:59pm Sunday night, the 24th of January, 2010, to enter to win a free copy of the KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide! It only takes a minute or two … click HERE to leave a comment and enter to win.

Win A Free Copy Of The New KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide!

On By adminIn General23 Comments

I’m really excited about this new kettlebell training manual … it’s been in the works for a while and it’s finally coming to fruition.  The KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide is going to be released next Monday, January 25th, 2010 … it’s a guide I’ve put together to help you learn the basics of safe and effective kettlebell training.  It brings together all the ideas we’ve covered thus far here on KettlebellBasics.net – and obviously a lot more – into an instructional manual and workout guide.  Click HERE for a little more detailed info on the new product.

As an appreciation to the readers of this blog, I’m going to do a little contest: I’ll be giving away two free copies of the guide on the 25th.  The catch: just leave a comment on this post detailing your #1 problem or frustration with learning the basics of kettlebell training before 12am Monday morning.  That’s it!  Pretty simple way to get somethin’ for free … all I’ll ask is for a little feedback from the winners after they’ve reviewed the guide.

So leave a comment already and get yourself entered to win!

5 Great Kettlebell Websites

On By adminIn GeneralLeave a comment

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for cool new kettlebell websites to check out … here are five of my favorites you may not have heard of:

1. Straight to The Bar

The ‘home of all things strength’ – not necessarily a kettlebells only site, but has got lots of great articles and discussion on all styles of KB training.  Be sure to check out the forums.

2. World’s Strongest Librarian

Josh Hanagarne – the one and only World’s Strongest Librarian – is one all-around cool dude.  He’s a fellow RKC and a great writer – he blogs about everything from card tearing to tourette’s syndrome to KB training.  Head over and check out his blog.

3. Charm City Kettlebells

Sandy Sommer, RKC writes this blog – he’s all about kettlebell training, primal eating, and healthy living.  A solid all-around KB resource and good choice for a kettlebell instructor if you happen to be in the Baltimore, MD area.

4. Nathan’s Fitness and Russian Kettlebell Blog

A cool blog that’s updated daily about kettlebell training, powerlifting, and a whole lot more.  A great one if you’re into heavy lifting, no-nonsense training and all things strength.

5. The Actionaut

Blog of Philippe Till, RKC – he writes about kettlebells, primal living, and more.  He’s also the only ‘wildfit’ certified coach in the U.S.

These websites and blogs are some great KB training resources – and my guess is even if you’re in to kettlebells there’s at least one or two of them you haven’t heard of.  Any cool KB sites you like?  We’d love to hear about them!

If you liked this post, you’ll love our newsletter – sign up by popping your name and email address in the upper right hand corner of the page.  You’ll get a KB training video as a free gift!

New Training Video! Kettlebell Rx: Three Common KB Training Mistakes and How To Fix Them

On By adminIn General, Tips and Tricks2 Comments

I remember when I first started training with KB’s:  I had a lot of strength training experience, but the kettlebell was different than anything I’d ever trained with.  I was honestly surprised at the amount of technique involved.

One important thing to remember is that you have to take the time to learn proper technique with kettlebells before you really start seeing the benefits they can provide.  So I’ve created a video that goes over three super common technique problems and fixes.

I honestly think this video and the info in it will help you shorten the learning process considerably.  I go over troubleshooting the swing, the clean, and the snatch.

To get access to the video, just enter your name and email in the box up in the upper right hand corner of the page.  You’ll also get a free subscription to the Kettlebell Basics newsletter by signing up.  What could be better?  Sign up today to get on the fast track to fixing your beginner kettlebell training mistakes!

Why You Need To Practice Your Kettlebell Skills

On By adminIn General, Tips and Tricks2 Comments

Learning good kettlebell technique is like learning any other skill – it requires regular practice.  When I started practicing the basic movements on a daily basis is when I really started seeing measurable progress with my KB program.  If you’re serious about getting everything you can from your kettlebell training and realizing its true benefits, you have to focus on good technique. Let’s go over a short example and talk about a good way to structure your daily practice routine.

An example of an exercise that requires a lot of attention to proper form is the clean and press.  This is a highly technical exercise.  A lot of people – myself included – go out on day one and do a full fledged c + p workout – maybe 50 or so total reps of the movement.  The problem is that your form is crappy and you can’t lift as much weight as you could if your form was better and you just end up with a banged up and bruised forearm. So with this kettlebell exercise, just like all the others, the key is practicing and getting your form down before you include it in a full blown workout.

So what do I mean by practice?  Just start every workout by practicing the basic drills you’re working on.  For example, if you’re learning how to do the swing and the get up, pick a light weight and do a few get ups and a few dozen swings.  Practice the various positions of the get up.  Go back and forth through the parts of the movement you’re having trouble with.  For the swings, do 10 or 12 at a time, focusing on one point for each set – staying tight, keeping the lats engaged, proper breathing, etc.  Don’t come anywhere close to failure on either drill.

The key to making real progress with your kettlebell training is proper form. Practice your drills every day according to this basic schedule and you’ll be well on your way to more effective and efficient kettlebell training!

I’m Going To Purchase Some Kettlebells; What Size Do I Need?

On By adminIn Tips and Tricks2 Comments

So you’ve (hopefully) done a little research,  and you’re ready to purchase a kb or two and get started.  But what size to start with? Good question – I’ll try to help you out by telling a little about my own personal experience and that I’ve had with my clients.

The first thing to think about is what exercises you’ll be doing with the kbells. Seems obvious, but for some reason most people don’t seem to give this a lot of thought. Most people – men and women included – could probably handle the Beast (the 106 pounder) for deadlifts. On the other hand, if you’re doing turkish get ups, you’ll probably need a little lighter weight.  That being said, the first exercises I always teach my clients and force them to master before moving on to more advanced drills are the swing, the get-up, and the goblet squat.

For those exercises, an average woman would be well served with a 12k (26 pounds) for swings and squats and an 8k (18 pounds) for get ups.  Squats could be done with either weight.  Most women can progress fairly quickly to the 16k (35 pounds) for swings.

An average strength man will use a 16k for swings and a 12k for get ups to start, and either weight for squats.  Most men can progress quickly to the 20k or 24k for swings.

These numbers are guidelines, obviously: you could start higher if you’ve got a solid background in strength training and athletics, or lower if you’re new to working out or just getting back into it.

Like I’ve mentioned before, my personal favorite brand of kettlebells is Dragon Door; if you’d like to know the reasons why check out this post. Above all else, find a quality brand of kettlebells; you’ll be happy you made the little extra investment.

Another thing you might want to check out is the starter kits available from Dragon Door – they give you an instructional book, DVD, and a single kettlebell.  This is actually probably exactly what I would buy if I was starting all over again with kettlebell training – Pavel is the man when it comes to kb instruction.  And learning to do things right from the start is so important.  Click on the banner below to find out more about these packages:

DragonDoor Quick Start 468x60

So, use this info to figure out what size kettlebell would work best for you and your goals.  Most importantly, pick one up and get started!  And remember, if you’d like to receive free email updates from kettlebellbasics.net, be sure to subscribe by entering your email in the box in sidebar!