Month: April 2026

Hybrid Kettlebell Muscle vs. Bodybuilding [worth printing this out]

On By adminIn General, Tips and TricksLeave a comment

Back in 2018, I traveled to Italy to certify as a StrongFirst Lifter (SFL).

Amazing trip. One I’m still grateful for to this day.

But here’s one thing I remember most:

Watching the other participants train was fascinating. You could pretty quickly tell who had been doing what leading up to the cert.

Group one: folks who had been training with a blend of kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight—a hybrid approach. When it came time to perform the required lifts (Zercher squats, front squats, back squats, good mornings, deadlifts, bench press, military press), they moved well. Solid form. They passed.

Group two: folks who had been taking a more traditional bodybuilding approach—lots of isolation work, splitting body parts across different days, machines, etc. And here’s the thing—they were JACKED. Big. Strong-looking.

But when it came time to press a barbell overhead into a good position, or squat to depth while maintaining a neutral spine … a lot of them simply couldn’t do it. The mobility wasn’t there. The strength in the right places wasn’t there. And a lot of them didn’t pass the technique tests as a result.

That was 2018. Eight years later, I see the exact same thing playing out with my clients and online members—and the lesson is just as relevant.

Now—if your only goal is to look good in a mirror, a traditional bodybuilding approach will get you there. You will build bigger muscles. I’m not knocking it.

But if you want to get strong AND muscular … while staying lean, athletic, and mobile at the same time … that’s a different program.

That’s Hybrid Kettlebell Muscle 2.0.

HKM 2.0 is built around combining the classic barbell lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) with kettlebell training—in a way that produces real, lasting results. Strength, muscle, conditioning, and mobility. All together, not traded off against each other.

And this week — it’s my birthday week, so I’m doing what I always do and giving YOU the gift — when you grab HKM 2.0 right now, you also get three additional programs completely free:

  • 28-Day Bulletproof Shoulders Challenge
  • Kettlebell / Bodyweight Hybrid Strength Training (the 3/7 method)
  • Hybrid Kettlebell Muscle 1.0 (the original program)

This is a deal I’m running for my birthday, so grab it while it’s at its lowest.

Grab HKM 2.0 + all three bonuses here <<

Here’s to getting strong and muscular while staying lean, athletic, and mobile—all at the same time!

— Forest Vance, MS
Kettlebell Expert
KettlebellBasics.net

How I stopped thinking like a F*t O-Lineman

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Yesterday, I talked about how playing offensive line wired me wrong around food.

From age 14 through 25, I force-fed myself as much as possible, honestly, a good portion of the time. That was the job. Not healthy — but that was what the job required.

And then I retired from my football career. Started trying to get healthy and drop some lbs. And here’s how it played out:

I’d have a meal plan.

I knew my calories, I knew my protein target, I knew what a solid day of eating was supposed to look like.

And I’d do pretty well with it — for a day, maybe two.

And then I’d have a long day at work, get tired, get stressed, etc., and go off the plan.

Maybe I’d eat an entire bag of chips before dinner. Maybe I’d just hit the drive-through instead of eating what I had planned.

And then it would start — why did I do that? What is wrong with me? I know exactly what I’m supposed to be doing – but I just can’t seem to follow through.

And then I’d fall off the plan for a couple of days before dragging myself back to it.

Sound familiar?

Here’s what I eventually figured out was one thing going on underneath all of that.

The meal plan wasn’t the problem.

Now I DID need the meal plan. Knowing your calorie target, your protein target, what a solid day of eating looks like — that foundation matters.

But something was missing on top of it.

And that missing piece was identity.

In my own words — and this is not a politically correct way to put it, but it’s honest — I was thinking of myself as a “fat offensive lineman”. That was the identity running in the background. And no meal plan overrides that. You can white-knuckle it for a few days, but eventually your behavior follows your belief about who you are.

(And obviously, that’s not a nice way to talk to yourself. I would never say that to someone else. Just to myself. Which — honestly — is something I’ve also gotten a lot better at through this whole process.)

If any of this is resonating and you already know you’re in, you can grab one of the 12 spots right here -> SIGN UP FOR THE MINDFUL EATING SUMMER RESET

Otherwise, keep reading — because here’s where it gets interesting.

James Clear lays this out in Atomic Habits. His core idea is that you don’t change by focusing on goals. You change by focusing on identity — who you believe you are. And you build that identity through small consistent actions that each act as a vote for the person you want to become. No single action transforms you. But the votes stack up. And as they stack up so does your belief about who you are.

So here’s the practical takeaway from that.

Every time you make a small good choice around food — eating a little slower, stopping when you’re full, choosing the slightly better option — that’s a vote. You’re not trying to be perfect. You’re just stacking votes for the person you want to become. Over time, those votes build the evidence that you are, in fact, someone who takes care of their body.

That’s the foundation of what we build over six weeks in the Mindful Eating Summer Reset — in a small group setting with real coaching and real accountability.

If you’ve already worked with me and have a meal plan, bring it. We’ll use it or freshen it up as part of the program. If you don’t have one we’ll get you set up. But then we stack the psychology on top — the identity work, the behavior patterns, the stuff that actually determines whether the plan works long term.

This is capped at 12 people total. Once those spots are gone, registration closes. If you’re ready to do this differently — not just follow another plan, but actually change how you think about food and who you are around it — grab your spot here.

-> SIGN UP FOR THE MINDFUL EATING SUMMER RESET

— Forest

PS – Spots are going fast. If you’ve been on the fence, now is the time. GRAB YOUR SPOT HERE.

200 Rep Kettlebell “Skill Day”

On By adminIn Kettlebell WorkoutsLeave a comment

Hey, I hope you had a great Easter.

Now it’s a new week, and we’re starting our Gladiator Kettlebell Tetrad Challenge today. I’m pretty excited about it.

Over the last couple of days, I shared a “Preparation” day and a “Test” day with you – sample workouts from the program. Today I want to show you the third part of this training cycle: the skill day.

*If you still want to jump in for Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell, you can. We’re starting today, but this will be your last chance to join at the beginning. Once we get rolling, it’ll be harder to jump in and keep up. You can check it out at the link below if you haven’t already:

-> Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell (starts today, Monday, April 6th 2026)

This is a 200-rep workout. You’re moving through a circuit, getting your heart rate up, and working through a range of kettlebell movements. It’s a longer, steady session where you practice different exercises and build volume.

—–

200 Rep Kettlebell “Skill Day”

Do 20 reps of each exercise listed below. You can rest as needed, but you CANNOT move on to the next exercise until you have completed all 20 reps:

  • 10 1 arm KB rows per side (recommended weight – 8k/12k (women); 16/20k (men)
  • KB squat clean (recommended weight –12k /16k women, 20k/24k men)
  • Bodyweight squat
  • Two hand kettlebell swing (recommended weight –12k /16k women, 20k/24k men)
  • Single arm kettlebell swing (10 per side) (recommended weight – 8k/12k (women); 16/20k (men)
  • Alternating lying leg raise (10 per side)
  • Renegade rows (10 per side) (recommended weight – 8k/12k (women); 16/20k (men)
  • Squat jumps
  • Burpees
  • 1 arm kb press (10 per side) (recommended weight – 8k/12k (women); 16/20k (men)

STANDARD VERSION – do one round

ADVANCED VERSION – rest and repeat for a total of 400 reps!

—–

This ties the whole thing together.

We’ve gone over each day individually, but the real value comes from putting them together and following the full cycle.

Getting pieces of it through email gives you a taste, but if you want a progressive plan where everything is laid out and builds over 28 days, that’s what the full challenge is for.

If you want to be stronger, leaner, and move better 28 days from now, I’d recommend jumping in.

It’s less than the cost of a single personal training session, and you’ll get a lot more out of it.

You can sign up at the link below.

-> Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell (starts today, Monday, April 6th 2026)

Have a great day!

—Forest

Gladiator KB “Trial Day” – Snatch + Decending Ladder Challenge

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Did you run the kettlebell prep 17-Min “Gladiator Build” KB Complex that I sent you yesterday?

That’s the first part of how this is set up.

You see, in Gladiator Kettlebell, we use a four-day training cycle called the tetrad that dates back to ancient athletics and was described by Philostratus, who wrote about how athletes prepared for competition.

The idea is simple.

The first day, which was yesterday, was a sample of that. We do what is called a prep. The idea is that it prepares the athlete. Regarding exercise, the first day consists of short, intense movements that should get the athlete going and prepare him for the hard work to follow the next day. Short bursts of exercise similar to high-intensity interval training or plyometrics. That’s what we did yesterday.

Today, day two, is your trial day.

This is an all-out trial. It’s a strenuous day and an all-out test of the athlete’s potential.

So today you’re going to push a little bit more and give yourself something you can come back to and improve over time.

—–

Gladiator KB “Trial Day” – Snatch + Descending Ladder Challenge

Start with a strength and core pairing for four rounds.

— Kettlebell snatch for twenty seconds per side
— Rest for ten seconds
— Plank hold for twenty seconds
— Rest for ten seconds and repeat

After that, move into a descending ladder.

Complete all reps of each movement, starting with ten and working your way down to two.

— Squat jumps
— One arm rows
— Push-ups
— Walking lunges per side
— Burpees

—–

A test day, the trial day, like we did today, gives you something consistent you can come back to and improve instead of just doing a different workout every time.

When you rotate this with the prep day from yesterday and the two other days in the tetrad, rest days and skill days, which I’ll cover in a future email coming soon, stay tuned, you will start to feel more organized, and it will be easier to stick with. That is going to be the key to unlocking your progress.

The full 28-day version of this is all put together so you can follow it without having to plan it yourself.

You can check it out at the link below, but hurry because we start this challenge on Monday:

–>> Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell – Starts Monday, April 6th

I’ll be back soon to walk you through how the skill day fits in next.

—Forest

17-Min “Gladiator Build” KB Complex

On By adminIn Kettlebell WorkoutsLeave a comment

There’s a certain feeling you used to have when it came to training.

You didn’t overthink it; you just showed up, and you were ready to go.

You felt strong, capable, and like you could handle whatever you threw at yourself that day.

For many of us, that came from sports, the military, or just training hard in our 20s without much thought.

Over time, that starts to change.

Life gets busy, work and family take priority, you pick up a few injuries, and workouts become less consistent.

Now, you’re still trying to train, but it doesn’t feel the same.

You’re starting and stopping more than you’d like, working around things that didn’t used to bother you, and when you do get a session in, it can feel like you’re just going through the motions instead of actually building anything.

A lot of people chalk this up to getting older, but what’s usually missing is structure.

When you were at your best, you were following something that had some built-in progression, even if you didn’t think about it that way.

Now most workouts are random, and while you might get a good sweat, there isn’t much that carries over from one session to the next.

If you want to start getting that feeling back, the first step is not going harder, it’s getting back to a simple structure that lets you build momentum again without beating yourself up.

(That’s why this structure idea is a BIG FOCUS for our upcoming Gladiator KB Challenge.)

Here’s a “build day” session you can run right now:

—–

17-Min Gladiator Build KB Complex

Start with a dynamic warm-up for five to ten minutes.

Then move into this kettlebell complex for three to five rounds:

  • Five presses each side
  • Five reverse lunges each side
  • Ten swings
  • Five burpees

Rest for about 60 to 90 seconds between rounds, and keep the focus on clean, controlled reps.

Then finish with three to four rounds of quarter Turkish get-ups and hardstyle planks. Do three to five reps per side on the get-ups and hold each plank for twenty to thirty seconds.

—–

You should feel like you got a solid session in, but not beat up.

That’s intentional.

This kind of work is what most people skip, and it’s a big reason they end up inconsistent or constantly restarting.

I’ve been building out a full system around this idea using a simple four-day rotation that helps you stay consistent and actually build from week to week.

Learn more at the link below:

-> NEXT PAGE

—Forest

KB Snatch Workout – 4.2.26

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We had a great training session this morning.

It was snatch day — and if you’ve never done a kettlebell snatch protocol built around hitting a target number on the minute, every minute, you’re missing out. It’s one of those workouts that looks simple on paper and humbles you fast.

Here’s exactly what we did:

—–

KB Snatch Workout – 4.2.26

A. Turkish Get-Up + Waiter’s Walk — 3 rounds per side

— 1 TGU up → waiter’s walk 30 seconds → 1 TGU down
— Complete all reps on one side before switching

B. Kettlebell Snatch — EMOM x 5 minutes

— 14 snatches on the minute, every minute
— Scale to 1-arm swings or high pulls or combo if form starts to break down\

C. 1-and-a-Quarter Superset — 3 rounds – :30 work / :15 rest, alternating:

— KB 1¼ Curl — all the way up, down a quarter, back up, all the way down
— 1¼ Push-Up — all the way down, up a quarter, back down, all the way up (3 reps per set)

That’s a full training day. Skill, power, conditioning, and a little hypertrophy work to finish.
But here’s the part most people miss.

That snatch protocol didn’t appear out of nowhere. Eight weeks ago we started at a lower number. Every week we added a rep or two. This morning was the payoff — hitting 14 on the minute felt hard but doable because we’d been building toward it the whole time.

That’s progressive overload. And it’s the difference between people who train and people who actually get stronger.

Here’s a simple test. Think back 90 days. What could you do then that you can do better now? More reps? Heavier weight? Same weight but cleaner, faster, easier?

If you can answer that question — you’re on the right track.

If you can’t — that’s the unlock right there. That’s the whole game.

Turns out this isn’t a new idea. Roman gladiators were training this way about 2,000 years ago using a system called the Tetrad — a four-day cycle built around progression and recovery.
It went like this:

Day 1 – Preparation: Build up, moderate intensity, get ready
Day 2 – Concentration: The hard day — like what we did this morning
Day 3 – Relaxation: Active recovery, let the work sink in
Day 4 – Restoration: Full reset before the next cycle

Then repeat. Seven cycles over 28 days.

We built an entire 28-day kettlebell challenge around this system — the Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell challenge — and it kicks off this Monday.

If you want in, now is the time. Early bird pricing ends soon and this is the best price you’ll see:

–>> the Gladiator Tetrad Kettlebell challenge

And even if the challenge isn’t for you right now — take that 90-day test seriously. Write down what you can do today. Train with a target. Check back in 90 days

Hope to see you on the inside.

– Forest