The deadlift is one of the most powerful total body, compound exercises a person can do to add quality muscle mass and strength.

You end up using almost every muscle in your body to do the lift:

— arms, forearms, and hands to grip the bar and keep it in position through the exercise
— shoulders and traps to keep the weight stable
— back and core to keep your body tight and spine secure
— posterior chain and legs to act as a lever and lift the weight

And that’s why I love it!

All that being said – learning to do the move safely and with good form, can be tricky. Specifically, the hip hinging movement that’s involved when a person deadlifts can be hard, even foreign for many people to learn.

A great way to train this I have found is using a kettlebell to learn the move. It’s a bit easier to sumo deadlift a KB properly because the weight can be set between the feet, and you automatically shift the weight distribution and start off in a little more advantageous position … and when you learn it correctly this way, it naturally transfers over to the straight bar deadlift.

Check out this video for a demo:

Another question I get frequently is HOW to incorporate the deadlift into your workouts – as in, how to mix it, as well as other barbell lifts, with your kettlebell and bodyweight exercise …

I will be back next time with a sample “hybrid” barbell / kettlebell / bodyweight workout for you, and I will be digging in to this topic more all week … so stay tuned! 🙂

Thanks so much for reading / watching, and talk soon –

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II, PCC
ForestVance.com

The Turkish get up is a total-body move that is great for both shoulder mobility and stability, hip mobility and stability, working pretty much all the “pushing” muscles in your body … and it’s GREAT for getting stronger, more “functional” abs!!

HOWEVER … a lot of folks also shy away from the move. It’s a little tricky to get down, and there is both some technique involved, as well as some strength / flexibility in certain parts of the body necessary, to do it well.

So I made a video for you that breaks down the move in detail … check it out, and follow along with me as I show you how to do the exercise:

I hope this video helps … and that you take the time to learn and perfect this great kettlebell exercise.

Train hard, and talk soon –

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

PS – One of the best kettlebell training systems – Kettlebell Evolution – is on sale this week. If today’s video got your interest, this program will be right up your alley. Check it out and get it at a great discount HERE.

We’re back today with part two of the Kettlebell Basics “Quick Start Guide” – a 100% FREE video series I’ve put together, showcasing my BEST videos on the basic kettlebell exercises!

Watch these videos several times each, take notes on them, and then actually practice the form tips and pointers that are suggested.  Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to mastering the basics of  safe and effective kettlebell training.

In part one, we covered the swing, the Turkish get up, and the squat … so today, in part two, we’ll go over:

– the clean
– the press
– the snatch

Let’s get right to it –

 

The Kettlebell Basics Video Series (part 2)

1 – Kettlebell Clean Technique Tips

2 – Proper Kettlebell Rack Position – a Quick How – To

3 – Is Your Kettlebell Press Jacked Up? Here’s How to Fix It!

4 – Mastering the Kettlebell Snatch (part 1)

5 – Mastering the Kettlebell Snatch (part 2)

6 – Mastering the Kettlebell Snatch (part 3)

 

Enjoy those videos, hope they help.  Feel free to post your questions etc in the comments section below.

– Forest Vance, Level 2 Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor

 PS – If you missed part one of the KB Basics Quick Start Guide, be sure to check that out as well.  Click HERE to see the first six videos in the series.

You want to learn the basics of safe and effective kettlebell training.

Or maybe you’re already training regularly with kettlebells, but you want to improve your form to get more out of your workouts and be safer at the same time.

This video series is for you.

I’ve gone through all of the hundreds of videos I’ve put up on the internet over the last few years, and organized the best ones on the basic kettlebell moves.

The BEST part is, they are totally, 100% free!  You don’t even have to opt-in to anything.  Think of this as an early Christmas gift 😉

What I would do is watch these videos several times each, take notes on them, and then actually practice the form tips and pointers that are suggested.  Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to mastering the basics of  safe and effective kettlebell training.

Also – since we ended up with over a dozen videos total, I have decided to break this in to two parts – today, we’re going to start with the three basic KB moves:

— the swing
— the Turkish get up
— the squat

And next time, we’ll go cover the clean, the press, and the snatch.

Let’s dive right in –

 

The Kettlebell Basics Video Series

1 – FVT Kettlebell Basics Workshop – the Swing (overview of the movement)

2 – The Towel Kettlebell Swing (corrective drill #1)

3 – How to Fix Kettlebell Lower Back Pain (training tip)

4 – The Turkish Get Up (broken down into steps) (overview of the movement)

5 – Kettlebell “Half” Turkish Get Up (great way to learn the exercise OR alternative to full get ups)

6 – Think You Know How to Squat? (overview of the kettlebell squat)

Enjoy those videos, hope they help.  Be back soon with part two.

– Forest

 

PS – This video series is the perfect compliment to the Kettlebell Boot Camp Workouts program on sale this week from my good friend Georgette Pann. More details on that below:

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My good friend Georgette Pann has her Kettlebell Boot Camp Workouts program on sale this week, and I wanted to give you the heads up.

Georgette has put together 99 done-for-you kettlebell boot camp workouts – to be used in a fitness boot camp setting (if you are a trainer yourself), or for your own
personal workouts.

(You may recall that I partnered up with Georgette on this project last year … so actually, some of the workouts in the system, I put together myself …

Since then, as you probably know, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world, we are opening a new 5,000 sq foot gym facility at the end of this month, along with a couple dozen other things going on … so Georgette and I came to the agreement that she would take over the project from here on out.

She has added a few new things since, I have reviewed the new program, and it’s great. If you’re looking for TONS of new ideas for your kettlebell workouts and you don’t already have a copy, you should check it out.)

I’ll be hooking you up with some sample workout(s) and training tips etc from the program all this week … but wanted to get out a “heads up” email so you can grab these workouts and start using them right away.

Here are a few of the workouts that are included:

— Strength and Conditioning Workout
— Circuit Style Training
— Beach Body Arms Workout
— High Intensity Bodyweight Cardio
— Upper Body Attack
— Lower Body Annihilation
— Quick Do-Anywhere Bodyweight Workout
— Epic Challenge Workout
— Beat the Clock
— Metabolic Depletion
— Kettlebell Swing Workout
— The “I Can’t Feel My Hands” Workout
— Tabata Workout
— Get Smoked and Jacked
— Quadzilla Workout
— The “Go Heavy or Go Home” Workout
— The “Animals” Workout

Get all the details here:

=> 99 kettlebell boot camp workouts

The kettlebell swing is the best exercise for fat loss.

It’s a total body move that burns TONS of calories, engages the entire posterior chain (muscles in the back of the body), and will get you into amazing cardio condition, all at the same time.

But most people get it wrong.

At BEST they don’t get all they could out of the move, and at worst they seriously injure themselves.

Thing is, the technique IS tricky … but if you know the proper progressions, you can make the move safe, and INCREDIBLY productive for fat burning, as it should be.

Got a new video that takes you though a simple progression learn the swing (or refine your technique if you’re already doing the exercise).

And if you like the video, you can find the full FVT Kettlebell Basics Workshop videos on sale HERE – along with 33 new KB Challenge Workouts for Fat Loss, and a whole lot more.

Check it out:

As outlined in the video, the swing progression is:

– The KB deadlift – practicing the hip hinge and getting the movement pattern down

– The 1/2 swing, one rep at a time – be sure to “park” the ‘bell between reps, BUT don’t get overextended when you put the KB on the floor

– The full / standard swing – ONLY progress to this AFTER you’ve mastered the previous two drills

This is just a quick example, but the key to safe and effective KB training lies in progressions like this one. That’s why if you’re looking to lose fat with kettlebells and stay injury – free, you should seriously consider investing in my full FVT KB Basics Workshop videos (along with 33 new KB Challenge Workouts)!

Train hard, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, RKC II
ForestVance.com

There are a lot of things that have to be in place to do a proper squat.

You need:

— mobility in the right places
— strength in the right places
— desire to work (squatting is hard!! … and it’s a lot easier to do half-reps etc)

And the reality is, most people do NOT have all of these things going.

Most people cannot do a legit, full-depth squat with perfect form.

Now it’s SO important that you develop and maintain your squatting ability. As a baseline for proper movement. To get the most out of your workouts and fitness program. To keep fit and healthy and strong as you age.

The goblet squat – invented, or at least popularized, by Dan John – is a fantastic exercise 1) to teach you how to squat properly and 2) as a drill in itself.

Check out this short video from our last kettlebell workshop for a quick tutorial on how to do the movement:

The Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Thanks –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II

PS – If you liked this video, it’s just a tiny, tiny taste of my stuff … I have literally hundreds of free videos like it, hundreds more training articles / blog posts / free workouts, dozens of full training programs, a membership site, an online coaching program …

The “core” of it ALL is my email newsletter.  It’s the hub and main focus of what I do online.  So if you got to this page somehow and you’re NOT signed up for my newsletter yet … and you dig the video here … be sure to drop your best email in the box at the upper right of the page to get signed up now!

The kettlebell clean is possibly the toughest to MASTER of the basic KB drills (“basic” kettlebell exercises being the swing, squat, Turkish get up, clean, press, and snatch).

The goal is to clean the ‘bell up from the ground in one smooth movement into a perfect rack position at the shoulder. But commonly –

— The starting positon / “set up” for the clean is done wrong
— Folks get TOO MUCH hip drive, and end up whacking / brusing up their forarm in the process
— The KB takes the wrong path on the way up, making the exercise much harder (in a bad way) and causing extra stress on the elbow and shoulder

SO, I got a new video for you, that will show you how to fix the problems listed above – a few more – in about two minutes! Take a pause from whatever you’re doing and check it out below.

And, don’t forget – as part of the “FVT Baby Sale” going this weekend, we have not one but TWO of my best-selling kettlebell programs on sale:

=> Kettlebell Challenge Workouts 2.0
=> Kettlebell Boot Camp Workouts

So if you enjoy the video, be sure to check out those programs as well 😉

Kettlebell Clean Technique Tips

Thanks, train hard, and talk soon –

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Level 2 Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor

A lot of experts say that the squat is the king of all exercises.

Of course, there will always be a bit of debate to be had … about if this is the true “KING” of all exercises out there … some people will agree, and some people won’t.

BUT … what matters most is … if you get stronger in the squat, you’ll end up getting strong all over as well. You can’t deny that.

So then, the question becomes – HOW to get your squats stronger?

Do you just keep adding weight to the bar? Is there some sort of special set/rep scheme you should be following?

Interestingly, it’s NOT always just an issue of strength.

Of course we can always keep trying to add more weight to the bar in hope of getting ourselves stronger … but if that’s all it took, we’d have a LOT more people walking around with bigger squats, right?

What could very well be holding you back from a stronger squat is MOBLITY. You need to be able to move your body through a better range of motion, more efficiently.

Because the better you move, the stronger you’ll get in the long run.

If all you do is keep trying to add weight to the bar in hopes of getting stronger – and if you’re not moving well – you’ll end up running into problems. You’ll be reinforcing terrible movement patterns, which will NOT help you get stronger … and in all likelyhood, you’ll end up getting injured as well.

The solution is to re-learn how to MOVE properly … and if you’re trying to improve your squat, re-learn how to do the actual squat movement itself.

Do that, and you’ll see your strength levels BLAST off the charts.

To give you an exact done-for-you-system on how to do this right, check out my buddy Travis Stoetzel’s Double Your Squat Program. You’ll not only discover how to move better and with more efficiency, you’ll also get your hands on Travis’ proven 6-Week Squat Cycle.

It’s an All-In-One squatting system that will no doubt help you gain massive amounts of strength.

=> Double Your Squat System (on sale this week at 75% off!)

That’s it for now. Start working on moving better, and see your squat numbers go up faster than you ever thought possible.

Train hard, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

PS – Almost forgot – got a new video up for you today on this same topic. A simple starting point for improving your mobility on the barbell back squat is the kettlebell goblet squat.  Check it out below:

Kettlebell Squat Progression