Complex: do as many reps as you can of each exercise in :40. Flow from one move to the next without rest. Rest for approx. :60 between rounds. Do 4 rounds total:
– KB suitcase reverse lunge (one side for full work period; switch sides after each round) (8k women / 16k men)
– KB single leg deadlift (one side for full work period; switch sides after each round) (8k women / 16k men)
– Hand-to-hand KB swings (12k women / 20k men)
– Push ups (hands elevated, knees, or toes) with plank jack
Today’s Lactic Acid KB Complex workout is called “The Punisher 2.0”
It’s going to hurt a little.
Push your limits.
HOWEVER, as I go into in more detail on this page, if you can survive, you will see some serious performance improvements with this style of training, and fast!
Give it a try, then go sign up for the 28-day Kettlebell LAIT Challenge:
1 – Do as many KB squat to presses as you can in :30 (right side) (suggested weight = 8 to 12 k women / 12 to 16k men) 2 – Do as many one arm KB swings as you can in :30 (right side) (suggested weight = 8 to 12 k women / 12 to 16k men)
(“one arm swing switch” to other hand, then)
3 – Do as many KB squat to presses as you can in :30 (left side) (suggested weight = 8 to 12 k women / 12 to 16k men) 4 – Do as many one arm KB swings as you can in :30 (left side) (suggested weight = 8 to 12 k women / 12 to 16k men)
(without resting, move directly into)
5 – Do as many burpees as you can in :30
Rest for two to three minutes, reepeat for a total of six rounds.
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If you want to take your fitness to the next level, NOW is your chance:
Sign up for my upcoming 28-day Kettlebell LAIT Challenge at the link below:
Would you like to see a significant, measurable performance improvements within the next 28 days, using just a couple of kettlebells and in three or four short, do-anywhere workouts each week?
If you’re one of those weird people like me who actually LIKE it when your muscles burn during a tough workout, you’re doing to LOVE kettlebell LAIT!
See, that burn is related to the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles. (Contrary to popular thought, lactic acid is not actually the cause of the burn, it’s more accurately the remedy. Research article linked below for more on the science behind this if you’re interested.)
Your lactate threshold is a measure of the maximum exercise intensity you can sustain without fatiguing. It is a very consistent predictor of how an athlete will perform, because the higher your lactate threshold, the higher your capacity for intense, prolonged effort.
Lactic Acid Interval Training specifically trains you to push that lactate threshold higher, so that you can get fitter and stronger over time.
For this month’s 28-day kettlebell Challenge, we are going to do lactic acid interval training… with kettlebells!
To set this type of training up, you’re going to do:
1 – High-intensity intervals that surpass your lactate threshold, aiming for 95 to 100 percent of your maximal heart rate 2 – Six to 10 cycles of two- to three-minute work intervals with two- to three-minute recovery intervals in between
To make this work, you’ll need to PUSH HARD.
Of course, be careful, and don’t injure yourself.
But for the desired results, the work sets have to be HIGH INTENSITY!
Here’s what a sample kettlebell workout using this method might look like:
(rest approx 2 mins; repeat for a total of 3 rounds)
PART 2
– burpees – :60 (no rest) – recline rows OR 1 arm KB rows – :60 (no rest) – KB goblet squats – :60
(rest approx 2 mins; repeat for a total of 3 rounds)
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Kettlebell LAIT (lactic acid interval training) is a different approach to training that what you’re probably used to. It involves working with very specific intensity levels, work periods, and rest periods so that you can improve your lactate threshold. This will help you get better results from your kettlebell training efforts.
It’s HARD – but if you can survive, it’s worth the pain! 🙂
Stay tuned, registration for the 28-day Kettlebell LAIT Challenge opens tomorrow, November 16th.
– Forest Vance Master of Science, Human Movement Kettlebell Expert Over 40 Training Specialist KettlebellBasics.net
A couple of years ago, I participated in a 30-day Challenge.
It was a combo of mental, physical, and spiritual work to help you improve as a person, better live out your purpose in life, and serve others.
It was an amazing experience actually… I won’t get into all the details in this post… but the main reason I bring it up is because as part of the Challenge, we would do push ups every morning.
The way we did the push ups actually reminds me of the “Push Up Mastery” guide that you get as another free bonus when you pick up a copy of the Physique Zero program we’ve been talking about all week:
There was a structured and progressive system where you’d slowly but surely progress the the number of push ups you would do every day, for 30 days straight.
I increased my push up ability quite a bit that month!… and I’m willing to bet that the average person who follows this program to a “T” could do the same, maybe even double the amount of push ups they could do in one go.
Here’s a short example – it’s the first three days of the program:
DAY 1
Set 1: 5 Set 2: 5 Set 3: 10 Set 4: 5
DAY 2
Set 1: 20 Set 2: 10 Set 3: 10 Set 4: 8
DAY 3
Set 1: 8 Set 2: 15 Set 3: 8 Set 4: 8
The program follows a very specific progression in terms of going up and down in total reps and volume each day for 30 days. You obviously need to see the full plan to understand how it all works. But hopefully this gives you a general idea.
(BTW – there is both a beginner and advanced version of the program, so you can start with the plan that works best for you and where your fitness level is currently at.)
For the full, detailed program that will help you do more push ups (plus the full at-home bodyweight strength program to go with it!), click the link below:
Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to all of those who have served and who are currently serving our country!
Today’s workout is a kettlebell adapted version of the Crossfit Hero WOD “TILLMAN”. According to the WODwell website:
“Patrick Daniel Tillman (11/6/76–4/22/04) was a professional football player who left the National Football League and enlisted in the United States Army in May 2002. He joined the Army Rangers and served multiple tours in combat before he was killed in the mountains of Afghanistan. He was a recipient of the Silver Star, the third highest honor in the military, and a Purple Heart. Pat is survived by his wife Marie. He is also remembered through the foundation named in his honor.”
I think if I had to pick just one bodyweight exercise I could do along with my kettlebell training, it would be pull ups.
This is because vertical pulling – the movement pattern performed when doing a pull up – is so critical to balanced development and total body strength, yet it is very difficult or almost impossible to train with kettlebells alone.
Plus, it’s just SUCH a great way to develop upper body strength and overall fitness, using just your body weight!
All that being said, pull ups are tough for a lot of people to get going with. Here are five tips that should help:
1 – Be patient
Pull ups are extremely physically demanding, which means you won’t see the quick results that you can with other exercises. If you can do two today, it would be almost impossible to be able to do twelve in two weeks. Accept that being able to do more is a slow and steady process.
2 – Get lots of practice with the movement
When we’re tired, we often try to cheat by giving up proper form in order to make things easier on ourselves. Just focus on doing a couple per day at first, and think of it as practice – don’t work on them to the point of exhaustion or muscle failure.
3 – Use the Pull Up Ladder
Try this:
1. Do 1 rep and then rest for 30 seconds.
2. Do 2 reps and then rest for 45 seconds.
3. Do 3 reps and then rest for 60 seconds.
Then repeat this sequence again twice more (3 sets total).
4 – Use Negatives in your training
A Negative Pull Up starts with you at the top (over the bar) and then you lower yourself down. Your muscles are able to handle more weight on the way down than the way up, so this is another way to keep working even after you’re too tired to do any more normal repetitions.
5 – Lose some weight
Pull ups require you to carry all of your body weight, so less weight means being able to do more! It’s that simple.
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To recap, pull ups are an excellent indicator of all around fitness. If you want to do more, follow the tips in this article, and you’ll be on your way to to success!
For the full, detailed program that will help you do more pull ups (plus the full at-home bodyweight strength program to go with it!), click the link below:
I was there for a mastermind meeting with my business coach and some other industry colleagues. I am a big believer in coaching! Just like I coach men and women over 40 to get strong and lean with kettlebells, I have coaches in fitness, business, and other areas of life to help me be the best that I can.
On my trip, I also had some hot chicken for lunch one day that was the BOMB:
I’m not used to eating like this, so I felt pretty sick after eating it for a while, lol… BUT, it was so tasty, that I have to say in this particular case, it was worth it!! ?
The epic hot chicken meal got me to thinking: The Holiday season is right around the corner, and the vast majority of us might be consuming a few extra calories here or there.
BUT, the LAST thing we want to do is go BACKWARDS on our fitness goals over the next two months.
So what we can do?
One thing is to allow yourself some leeway in eating things like hot chicken, or whatever else you want to enjoy. You CAN eat these kind of meals once you truly understand how they fit into your dietary “big picture”!
The other thing is to stay on track with your training schedule, or even kick it up a notch.
You can also add in a bit of extra cardio on top of your current training plan. This is what I will be doing. For example, if you could do three extra sessions a week and burn 500 kcals at each, that could be a great “buffer” to help mitigate some of those extra Holiday foods.
To sum up, the main point of today’s post is really to get you thinking about your strategy for holiday fitness. If you are mindful and have a plan, you can maintain – or even make gains! – in the traditionally challenging time of year for your health. Start planning now!
Part 1 – Perform four rounds of the superset below, resting approx :30 between exercises and :60 between rounds. Your goal is to progress this superset by adding weight to one, two, three or all sets by the end of the Challenge!
– Split squats – 8 reps per side – KB in suitcase position
– 1 arm KB press – 5 reps per side
Part 2 – Set your timer to go off every 60 seconds. At the beginning of the first 60 second interval, complete the prescribed number of reps of the first exercise. Your rest period is the time between you complete the prescribed number of reps, and the second interval starts. At the beginning of the second 60 second interval, complete the prescribed number of reps of the second exercise. Your rest period is the time between you complete the prescribed number of reps, and the third interval starts. Continue in this fashion, completing a total of three rounds non-step of the circuit of exercises below:
– 20 side to side Squat jumps – :45
– Plank hold w/ opp shoulder tap
– Chin up hold (:30) OR pull ups (7) OR :45 skydiver hold
– Burpees – 10 (you pick the modification / version that works for you!)
Part 3 – Set your timer for 4 minutes. Do as many rounds as you can of the circuit below, trying not to set the kettlebell down:
Got a Spartan race coming up in about a week and a half.
I’m especially pumped, ’cause this is the first one I will be doing with my wife!
Wanted to share a routine that we’ve been doing on weekends to help prepare. This workout is great for ANYONE looking for an “outside the box” total body conditioning workout, whether they are preparing for a Spartan race or not. It’s also a great compliment to your kettebell routine:
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*This free backpack has been my go-to rucksack for the last few months – highly recommended:
Ruck about 1 mile with a 20-40 pound ruck sack on your back (adjust weight, pace, etc for your fitness level and goals)
PART 2
Take your ruck off, and use it to complete as many rounds as you can of the circuit below in 10 minutes:
5 ruck clean-to-reverse lunge
5 burpees
10 ruck squat to overhead press
PART 3
5x100m sprints (beginner) 10x100m sprints (advanced) (take your ruck off for these) (great set up: ruck to a football field; do your sprints; then move on to part 4)
PART 4
Ruck about 1 mile with a 20-40 pound ruck sack on your back (adjust weight, pace, etc for your fitness level and goals)
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Add this RUCK, LIFT, SPRINT workout to your weekly routine to burn more fat and take your conditioning to the next level.
To your success!
-Forest Vance Kettlebell Expert Over 40 Training Specialist KettlebellBasics.net
PS – This free backpack has been my go-to rucksack for the last few months – highly recommended:
