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MY “Off-Day” Recovery/Flexibility/Mobility Routine

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I am training for another RKC II cert which is coming in about 6 weeks. Among the things I need to do include a windmill with a snatch size ‘bell and a perfect ass-to-grass pistol squat.

Now I can grind out both of those right now … but I will not lie, my flexibility in the hips and thoracic spine areas leaves something to be desired. I might be able to DO the movements but they aren’t as great looking or honestly as good as they could be. That’s why I am dedicating a full three days per week of workout sessions JUST to recovery, flexibility and mobility. Already after just three sessions of this last week, I could feel the difference in my windmills and pistol squats in yesterday’s training session. Pretty crazy.

Now if you know you need to work on your flexibility and mobility (and chances are you do), you should try this method as well. Here is what one of my recovery/flexibility/mobility days looks like if you want to try and build it into your own routine:

 

MY “Off-Day” Recovery/Flexibility/Mobility Routine

1 – Foam roll/SMR

I take a lacrosse ball and roll out sore areas in my upper back, standing against the wall. Then I use the foam roll to hit my calves, hamstrings, IT bands, quads, hip flexors, and back.

2 – Joint mobility

I do 10-20 reps each of:

3 way neck
shoulder shrug
arm circles
hip circles
knee circles
ankle circles

3 – Dynamic stretch

I’ll hit specific areas I need work on – inchworms for the hams and calves, sumo squat-to-stands for the hips, walking lunges w a reach for the hip again …

4 – Low intensity walk or bike ride for 20 or 30 mins

I enjoy getting outside and doing this, it enhances recovery, I work the cardio a bit and I can get out in nature and clear my mind. And since I typically train

around noon it’s also a nice break from all the craziness of a typical day.

5 – Static stretch

Here I will again hit areas I need to focus on – like the hips, hamstrings, T-spine, etc. Also I will include a couple of yoga poses here.

 

If you need to loosen up and enhance your recovery, try working a session or two like this per week into the mix, and let me know how it goes for you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised 🙂

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and talk soon –

– FV

 

PS – My PreHab revolution program is on sale for the next couple of days. In it you will find a full program to get you feeling and moving great. It’s got follow along videos on how to perform everything outlined above and a LOT more included. Check it out here:

=> PreHab Revolution

Simple Early AM/Pre-KB Workout Joint Mobility Routine

On By adminIn Basic Kettlebell Drills, VideosLeave a comment

As you probably know, I had a “cup of coffee” in the NFL in a previous life, with short stints on a couple of different teams.

Leading up to that point, I had been involved in competitive sports for over 15 years.

Long story short, my athletic career left me with my fair share of dings. I got off pretty good compared to a lot of guys I know, but I still feel it on a daily basis.

So, I’ve been doing a simple, five minute joint mobility routine nearly every morning for the last six months or so. This little thing has probably had more impact on my overall health and well being than anything else I have done this year. It’s been a HUGE help in reducing some of my chronic aches and pains.

Today, I have a SUPER simple joint mobility routine to get you started – so you can start enjoying the benefits of joint mobility training as well!

 

Simple Joint Mobility Routine

The simple definition of joint mobility training: Actively moving the joints through a full range of motion, with the intent of restoring or maintaining mobility.

Joint mobility training is important for several reasons:

  • It improves performance by helping you learn how to properly engage each joint and muscle group in your movements.
  • It increases the efficiency of your movement.
  • It drastically decreases the chance of injury by elimiating incorrect movements along incorrect joints.

Exercises

-Do 10-20 reps of each exercise
-Make you you set yourself up with perfect posture BEFORE you start the routine.

  • 3 way neck
  • shoulder shrug
  • arm circles
  • hip circles
  • knee circles
  • ankle circles

Try this simple joint mobility routine today and see the difference for yourself!

Click HERE to see a video showing how to do all of the movements and to see my full “PreHab Warm Up” routine (includes foam rolling, dynamic stretch and more)

Thanks for reading, and talk soon –

Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist

The BEST Kettlebell Exercise for Abs?

On By adminIn Basic Kettlebell Drills, VideosLeave a comment

No matter WHERE your fitness level is at …

You can always get better abs.

Thing is … traditional ab training … crunches, leg raises, sit ups, etc. … not only is it ineffective … it’s boring.

A fun and unique kettlebell exercise for abs is the kettlebell renegade row. And as an added benefit, when you do this move, not only will you work the heck out of those core muscles, you’ll hit almost every other muscle group in your body at the same time.

 

The Kettlebell Renegade Row

The way that your abs and your whole core (which includes your glutes, your midsection, your lower back and those muscles in the middle of your back) functions is as a stabilizer.

Say for example, if I’m doing a kettlebell swing or I’m doing a goblet squat, my abs are tightening up to stabilize my trunk during functional movements.

So here is an exercise called the renegade row. This is a unique exercise, you may have see it before, but it is a great total body ab movement.

Grab two kettlebells. The basic version has you practicing shifting your weight back and forth. Shift your full weight to one side while keeping your abs tightened like you are doing a push up.  This is SUPER helpful to get the proper weight distribution of the movement down.

Then you can go ahead and add a row to it.  The move should now be exactly the same, except you’re actually doing a row.

If you want to make it more difficult, you can add a push up between each row.

Also important to note, my abs are bracing really hard to stabilize as I shift my weight and do a row on one side.

This is a total body exercise with a strong emphasis on the abs. There’s the kettlebell renegade row – a great exercise for abs!

 

Here is a YouTube video on how to do the exercise:

 

Kettlebell Renegade Row Workout

Now you know how to properly perform the renegade row … here’s a quick workout you can do with it.

Set your timer. Do three Renegade Rows every 45 seconds. Do a push up after each row while you’re on the ‘bells – so you’ll end up doing six push ups and three rows each side.

Your rest is the remaining time in the 45 seconds you have AFTER you’ve done your reps. (The faster you go, the more rest you get.)

Do this a total of five to ten times – depending on fitness level, goal, etc.

 

Total Body Abdominal Annihilation

And also, to remind you … I just finished putting together a new program, called “Total Body Abdominal Annihilation”.

In it, you’ll find:

– More of my favorite total body kettlebell and body weight exercises – like Janda Sit Ups, Windmills, and TGUs
– Simple to do yet SUPER effective total body ab workouts like this one in this article
– And more ..

Right now you can get this program FREE.

How? Just click THIS LINK … check out all the details on my trusted friend Dennis’ Superhero Abs program (on sale this weekend), see if it is a good fit for you … and when you grab your copy, I’ll send you a free copy of MY new program, “Total Body Abdominal Annihilation”.

No need to forward your receipt or anything … Dennis is going to send me a list of folks who purchase the program through me and I’ll send you a copy of TBAA at the beginning of next week.

That’s it for today! Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC

Two Quick Drills to Fix Your Kettlebell Swing Form

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Just finished up a great group kettlebell workout this morning at the studio.  At today’s session, we worked on our swing form quite a bit.  A point that got brought up today regarding the kettlebell swing was great, and I wanted to share it with you.

When it comes to the kettlebell swing, our number one goal is to get you to a place where you can do the movement safely and effectively. We don’t want you to get injured doing the exercise, and we want you to be able to enjoy all the benefits it offers – like fat loss, improved conditioning, etc.

That’s our baseline. We try to get folks to that point as soon as possible. And for most people it takes 3-5 training sessions, maybe 300-500 reps of the swing, WITH expert supervision and coaching, to get there.

This should be your goal as well.

Then, after that, we are ALWAYS going to be tweaking and refining the exercise. You can always get a little better at swings. And you should always be trying.

All this being said, I have two drills for you today that will help you improve your swing form, no matter where you are currently at with it. Give them a go, and be sure to let me know how you do:

 

1 – Face the Wall Squat Drill

Wall squats are the perfect way to teach someone how to squat correctly. The wall squat drill is performed while facing a wall and standing approximately one foot away. You will squat down as far as you can, without any part of your body coming in contact with the wall. The visual reference of the wall forces you to stay tall and upright as you squat down. You will also want to make sure your knees track over your toes and you keep your torso in a neutral or straight position. As you get better, and your hips and upper back become more mobile, you will be able to squat lower and lower.

Check out this video to see how to do the exercise:

 

 

2 – The Plank => KB Swing Drill

A proper kettlebell swing requires you to brace your abs just like a plank does at the top of the movement.

If you are NOT bracing your abs properly, you can 1) do a plank hold, and then 2) do a few swings immediately afterwards to feel the relationship between the two.

Check out this video to see how to do the drill:

 

To sum up, the kettlebell swing is one of the most efficient exercises ever. You’ll burn an amazing amount of fat with it in a short amount of time, and your conditioning levels will go through the roof. BUT – you can also ALWAYS be improving your KB swing form. The two videos today will help you a lot in doing this.

That’s it for now. Try today’s drills and let me know how they work out for you.

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor

 

PS – If you enjoyed today’s article and videos, please share it with a friend, family member or co-worker who could benefit from it as well!!

How to Pack The Shoulder for Strength and Stability

On By adminIn Basic Kettlebell Drills, VideosLeave a comment

Shoulder packing stabilizes your shoulder, reducing the risk of injury. It also enables you to lift more weight.

See, the shoulder joint is highly mobile. But unfortunately, this mobility comes at the price of reduced stability.

What happens is, the top part of the upper arm bone can move away from the opposing joint surface when you, say, reach for something that’s far away from you. The muscles surrounding this joint become weaker as the space inside this joint increases. This separation in the shoulder joint reduces muscle activation, increases the instability of the joint, and increases the risk of injury.

SO … when you press or snatch or Turkish get up a kettlebell into an overhead position, the arm moves away from the body and the muscles that work to separate the shoulder joint are encouraged to fire.

What is the fix?

You will be stronger and press more safely if you can connect the upper arm to the opposing joint surface or “pack” the shoulder.

If you don’t know how to do this already, here is how in two easy steps:

One – learn how it feels to pack the shoulder. Watch the video below to see a drill that will show you how:

Two – reproduce and practice that feeling during a KB exercise (right after you try the shoulder packing drill). Grab a light kettlebell and press it overhead and try to keep your shoulder packed.

That’s it! Hopefully you now know (if you didn’t already) the value of packing the shoulder … and you have a new handy drill to practice it.

Let me know how that works for you, and talk soon –

– Forest

 

PS – If you enjoyed this article and video, please share it with a friend, family member, or co-worker who might enjoy it as well!

The Towel Kettlebell Swing

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If you’re still trying to dial in your form on the kettlebell swing, I think you’ll find today’s video quite useful.

Knowing how to use your hips to generate power in the swing is KEY for both maximum fat loss/conditioning benefit, and for staying injury-free.  Watch the video below to see a drill that will improve your hip power in the swing (in about 60 seconds):

The Towel Kettlebell  Swing

Are you making MORE dangerous kettlebell training mistakes like this one?  Click here to find out

Fix Your Kettlebell Clean (vid) + FVT Kettlebell Workshop Update

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Got a video for you today with three tips on how to fix your kettlebell clean.

But before we get to it – I want to remind you about the Kettlebell Workshop I’m holding at my studio in Sacramento, CA on the 1st of February.

Spots are filling quick for this thing, and the “early bird” pricing is about to expire.

This is a chance for you to spend a full day learning and/or dialing in your kettlebell training technique with help from yours truly … for a lot less than the cost of a single 45 minute one on one KB session.

Videos and articles etc. are a great way to learn about how to use kettlebells – but at the end of the day, really nothing is the same as in-person instruction. Get more details and reserve your spot here:

=> February 1st FVT KB Workshop

 

Okay, now on to the kettlebell clean tips.

This is one of my most popular videos – which is funny, because the quality sucks to be honest, and I shot it kind of spontanously, with no practice, and in a single take, in the hallway of my old house.

But I realize more all the time that the CONTENT is what matters when it comes to how to – type videos …and this one seems to have helped a lot of folks with their KB clean technique. Check it out here:

 

3 Tips to Fix Your Kettlebell Clean

That’s it for today. Hope the tips in the video above help you with your KB clean technique. And remember, this is just a tiny sample of what you’ll experience first hand when you attend my kettlebell workshop on Saturday, February 1st.

Train hard, and have a great day –

Forest Vance
Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor

Double Kettlebell Strength – Density Superset Workout

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Density training is defined simply as the amount of volume done over time. It’s a GREAT method for building muscle and shedding fat.

In today’s workout, for example, you’ll do as many rounds as you can of (3) double kettlebell front squats and (2) double kettlebell military presses in 15 minutes. Then, when you come back and re-visit the training session next time, you’ll see if you can do MORE total sets in the same time period.

This style of training is amazing for adding lean muscle, jacking your cardio through the roof, and burning a lot of calories in a short amount of time.

If you enjoy today’s workout, click this link for more like it

It’s also a great way to measure progression – because you can very simply see if you improved on your performance from your last workout or not

Today I have a double kettlebell strength – density superset workout for you to try – give it a go, and let me know how you do!

 

Double Kettlebell Strength – Density Superset Workout

 

Video Recap

Today I’m going to run you through a double kettlebell strength density superset workout.

This is going to consist of two different exercises. We’re going to do a double kettlebell front squat and a double kettlebell military press.

We’re doing three kettlebell front squats, two double kettlebell military presses for as many rounds as we can in fifteen minutes.

Keep track of the weight that you use. You should be able to go pretty heavy for this one.

Also keep track of how many rounds you get. If you’re doing the actual Kettlebell for Fighters program, which is a six week program, you’ll try to improve on the number of rounds and/or the weight that you use each week. It’s a progressive way which is how you should be structuring your programming for maximum results.

Let’s walk through the flow of the workout …

First, set your timer, get warmed up and make sure you are ready to rock.

Start with the kettlebell double front squat. Start with the kettlebells out in front, I’m going to have them backwards in a bit of a “V” position. I’m going to go back, clean them up to the shoulders, adjust my feet in just a tad, good solid rack position, thumbs touch the collarbones, forearms straight up and down. It’s just like I’m sitting down onto a box. Accelerate out of the bottom, pushing my feet through the floor to stand up.

Now there are two options from here. I can go straight to my press if I’m feeling strong or I can put them down on the ground and rest for a second.

Elbows right underneath the shoulders and hands when I’m pressing. Max body tension. Abs are tight and I’m breathing out through that sticking point.

Now we bring them back down. Set them down, shake it out and go back to another set.

So remember, you’ve got fifteen minutes. Rest as needed. This is going to be a lot more challenging than you might think. It seems really basic on paper but it is a tough workout. So let’s say you get ten rounds the first week try again later and see if you can get eleven. We’re trying to build on that. Remember, it’s a density superset so as many rounds as you can in fifteen minutes.

That’s about it! A real simple workout but TOUGH.

PS – If you enjoy today’s workout, click this link for more like it

How to Prevent Kettlebell Calluses

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Flash back to late 2008. I am in training for my first Russian Kettlebell Challenge certification.

One of the things you have to do to get certified is the infamous 100 rep snatch test – 100 snatches with a 24 kilo kettlebell in 5 minutes or less.

So after a month or two of training for the test – still maybe three or four months out from the actual certification weekend – I decide to do my first trial run.

It goes fairly well. I get it done, but just in time – with maybe 10  or 15 seconds to spare, if I remember correctly.

Funny thing was though, my hands were feeling really “hot” during the last minute or two of the test.

So I look down, and am surprised to see that there is a streak of blood running down my right arm.  I had ripped a callus straight off and just powered through (with all the fatigue and willingness to get it done, I did not even realize it when it happened)!

This was a good lesson though – because my training was affected for the next week or so, and I did not want that to happen again.  So I have had to learn to take better care of my hands in my KB training.

I thought you might have similar problems?  So I shot a quick video with some tips to help.  Here is how to prevent kettlebell calluses:

 

** We have been talking a lot this week about complex training … and so this video is actually great timing … because when you are doing complexes, the KB is in your hand for a long period of time and is doing a lot of rotating around.  And this is exactly when your hands tend to get torn up the most.

SO if you picked up a copy of Challenge Complexes – or are just planning on doing more complexes in your programming in general – you’ll want to pay special attention to this one.

How to Prevent Kettlebell Calluses

(video recap)

I’ve got a new video for you today to show you three tips on how to save your hands when training with kettlebells.

This is a really common problem.  Almost everyday it seems, I get questions like

“How do I save my hands when training with kettlebells?”

or

“My calluses are getting ripped off during hard kettlebell training.  After my high rep snatch workout I look down and blood is running down my forearm!”

Well I’ve got three simple tips to help solve this one.

Number one is to stop gripping the kettlebell so hard. What’s probably happening is when you are doing something like a snatch or clean you are gripping the bell really hard to try and slow it down. So maybe for one single repetition I do a snatch and I grip it hard and it slows down the impact but that’s an artificial way to keep that from happening. What needs to happen is you actually grip the kettlebell less and improve your technique on the snatch. Or on the clean, you need to be able to punch your hand around and not grip it hard to keep it from smacking you in the wrist. With the snatch it is just about snapping the hips hard, doing a little bit of a high pull, getting the weight to float up there and spearing the hand through.

Check out some of my other videos on my Youtube channel. I’ve got a lot more tips and specifics on there on how to do the kettlebell snatch.

The same thing with the clean, you are just punching that hand around like you are drawing a six-shooter. Elbow stays close to the body and your hand just comes around the ‘bell. No impact, no need to crush the grip.

Number two, and this comes from practice and lots of repetitions, is you want to be able to transfer that kettlebell back and forth from (demonstrating) this part of your hand to this part of your hand to skip over the calluses.

So if I’m doing a snatch, I’m going back and the kettlebell is going to be more in the hook of my fingers. Then as it comes over the top I skip to this part of my hand and as I gooseneck it to the top it’ll flip back over to the other part. So really, my calluses aren’t getting a huge beating while I’m doing that.

Number three would be if your hands tend to sweat and you are going to lose your grip (this happens a lot with any kind of high rep single arm kettlebell work in particular) just use some lifting chalk. You can get it at your local sporting goods store. Really all this is going to do is dry your hands off and improve your grip. It definitely helps to improve your grip if your hands tend to get sweaty. You may like it or you may not…as you can see it is a little bit messy but its worth it if that is a problem that you’re having.

So there are three tips for you to save your hands when training with kettlebells. Start using those right away and see some improved results.

Keep training hard, and talk soon –

Forest

Kettlebell Full Body Attack

On By adminIn Basic Kettlebell Drills, Kettlebell Workouts, VideosLeave a comment

I have been doing this program myself for the last few weeks:

Garage Built Body

And have been reminded of the power of the kettlebell full body attack.

Did it paired with another exercise at the end of one of the workouts and was just SMOKED … this thing works like every muscle group in your entire body!

Watch the video below to see how to do and use the exercise:

 

Kettlebell Full Body Attack

And click this link:

=> Garage Built Body

To see the full Garage Built Body program from my friend Travis Stoetzel.

Thanks!

– Forest

 

Video Recap

I’m going to show you today what could be one of the most difficult double kettlebell exercises around. This one is called the Total Body Attack, also known as “The Man Maker” … but I didn’t come up with that name just for the record. It could be politically incorrect according to some people’s standards but whatever you want to call it, its a great exercise.

You are going to need two kettlebells. If you can handle it, try to go a little heavier than you think you can. The reason being, when you are doing a renegade row or a push up or anything with your hands on the ‘bells, they can get a little bit unstable if your weight is really light. That’s because all of your weight is supported on the bottom of the ‘bell – which is really small.

So these are 16 kilo ‘bells and the bottom of these are a decent sized base.

Get both hands on the ‘bells, hop your feet back. Row on the right. Make sure when you do that row you transfer your weight over and get in a nice plank and use the muscles in the back to do the row. Row on the right, row on the left and hop the feet forward.

From here you have to adjust your hands a little bit and turn the handles in. It’s not going to be like a Russian swing to clean, it’s just going to be from a dead stop.

Go from right here, snap the hips, weights up to the clean position. From here, adjust your feet a little bit, do a squat up to an overhead press and repeat. You can add in an optional push up if you want to make it more difficult. Repeat that for reps.

So there is your Total Body Attack. You can use that at the beginning of your workout as a total body strength move or you can use it at the end with lighter weight as a finisher.

Thanks for watching, and see you next time!