I just finished off a short flexibility session this morning to start my day. This is something that I do almost every morning. I started the routine eight or nine years ago, and it has made a TREMENDOUS difference in improving recovery, mobility, conditioning, and overall athleticism.

If you are looking for similar benefits, and you aren’t currently doing a routine like this, I suggest you work something like this into your training as well!

Here is the short series from today, if you want to give it a try. I held each of these poses for about 45 seconds each:

– Low lunge

– Wide leg stretch / straddle

– Lying spinal twist

– Couch stretch

– Standing legs-apart stretch

– Seated spinal twist

If you want some additional help, advice, or instruction incorporating this sort of thing into your routine, check out my full REGENERATE – Simple Recovery for Lifters and Athletes program here:

https://forestvance.lpages.co/30-day-flexiblity-mobility-challenge/

It’s on sale for a couple more days.

To your continued success!

-Forest Vance – Master of Science, Human Movement – Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist – Certified Sport Yoga Instructor

I have a 7 day flexibility / mobility challenge you can try, starting tomorrow.

Challenge yourself to do the simple 10 to 12 minute stretch and core sequences outlined in the program available on the page linked below every day this week:

=> 7 day flexibility / mobility challenge

And notice how you begin to:

– Improve movement
– Feel less aches and pains
– Reduce stress
– Reduce muscle soreness
– Revive and rejuvenate the body
– Improve your overall desire to move more

In just 7 days.

If you decide to give it a try, I think you’ll be surprised at the results.

Let me know how it goes, okay?

And make it a great week! –

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist
Creator, REGENERATE – Simple Recovery for Lifters and Athletes

“Rucking” is simply walking with weight.

More and more it’s my go-to steady state cardio choice, because:

• You burn up to 3x more calories than walking
• It’s easier on your body and less impact than running
• It adds resistance training to your back, shoulders, glutes, and legs

It’s the perfect compliment to your kettlebell training, because no matter how popular HIIT gets, I am a firm believer that we also need some lower-intensity, base-building, heart-strengthing steady state cardio as part of our fitness program as well.

Ready to give it a try? Here’s how:

Start by loading up your backpack with 20-30 pounds (depending on your goals, you’ll probably want to work to increase the amount of weight you’re carrying over time).

March at a pace quicker than a stroll, with purpose! Your goal is to get your heart rate into that Zone 2 range (220 – your age x .60-.70) for 30-60 minutes.

If possible, though not required, choose a route with some hills / uneven terrain.

If this whole rucking thing is new to you, be sure to pack your bag right. You don’t want whatever you are carrying to hammer against your back. If you’re carrying a kettlebell or any other kind of hard object, you’ll want to swaddle it / them in a towel etc before putting in your ruck. Otherwise it can get VERY uncomfortable over time.

Oh ya – that free tactical backpack I mentioned yesterday? I do a workout like this about once per week, and that free backpack has been my go-to rucksack for the last few months – highly recommended:

-> free tactical backpack offer

To your success!

-Forest Vance
Kettlebell Expert
Over 40 Training Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

Want strong, eye-popping abs? Try this 250-Rep “Ab Torture” Challenge workout:

250-Rep “Ab Torture” Challenge

–Side bridge 30 reps with 10 second hold

–Ab wheel 75 reps

–Weighted leg raises 100 reps

–Plank on ball with feet elevated 2 X failure

–Weighted v-ups 75 reps

See descriptions / full video breakdowns using the link to the full program here -> “Ab Torture Challenge”

-Forest and the FVT Team

Do you want to be able to see your abs sooner?

If you are trying to get a six-pack, or just a lean and flat midsection, here is a simple trick:

Build up your abs.

See, most people focus on their diet. And I 100% agree that nutrition IS very, very key when it comes to losing the gut.

However, building up the core muscles will definitely help you get that flat stomach and/or see your abs SOONER.

A top fitness model put it this way:

“I focused on building up my abs. One of the best parts about building up your ab muscles is that they are visible through a higher body fat percentage. If you’re a guy and have strong abs, you’ll see them at 12-13% body fat; if you’re a woman with strong abs, you can see them at 14-16% body fat.

If your abs are small and weak and you’re a woman, you won’t be able to see them until your body fat is below 12%. A guy with weak ab muscles can’t hope to see his abs until his body fat is at 10% or below.”

If you want to get a six-pack sooner (so you can end your diet weeks or even months ahead of schedule), then use this to get strong, eye-popping abs:

-> the “Ab Torture” Challenge

-Forest Vance
KettlebellBasics.net
ForestVanceTraining.com

PS – When I “retired” from pro football in 2005, I lost about 70 pounds. Since then, I’ve hovered around the same weight (240-250). I’ve always been a big, strong dude, but never very lean. So at the beginning of this year, I decided to make fat loss a focus, and to see if I could improve the body comp!

Check out my latest progress pic below. (YES – these two particular shots are a few years apart, lol – but this gives you an idea of where I was back in my football days vs now.) Pic on the left is around 310, probably low-to-mid 20’s bodyfat range, pic on right right is around 235, probably around 12-13% bodyfat.

Main reason I’m sharing this is because I’ve used some of the techniques in this “Ab Torture” Challenge program, and I think they have worked, particularly to flatten and tone the midsection!

-> Check out the “Ab Torture” Challenge here

I was out of town recently for a couple of days, and hit up this 20-minute bodyweight strength workout in my hotel room.

I was surprised at how good of a workout it was!

Give it a try:

*If you want more workouts like this, you’ll get them in the “Extreme Bodyweight Cardio Conditioning” bonus that’s included free with your sign up to this month’s 28-day KB MRT Challenge -> https://forestvance.lpages.co/kb-mrt-challenge-30

“Bodyweight Strong” 20 min Home Strength Workout

1 – Set your timer to go off every 90 seconds. At the start of each interval, do five “shoulder tap – triple push up” burpees (kick your feet back – do a push up – tap your right shoulder – do a push up – tap your left shoulder – do a push up – kick your feet forward and stand up – that’s one rep!). Your rest is the time between completing all five reps, before the timer goes off at the start of the next 90 second interval. Repeat for four rounds total.

2 – Perform 8 close-grip ups. Without resting, perform 15 resistance band bicep curls. (If you don’t have a band, get creative – use your suitcase or some other heavy object!) Rest about 30 seconds, then repeat for four rounds total.

3 – Perform 10 one – arm doorway rows per side (stand facing a doorway – grab it with one hand – sit your hips back a little, then pull yourself towards the door frame as you stand up). Without resting, perform 15 tricep pushdowns with your resistance band looped over the top of the door (if you don’t have a band, again get creative – loop a towel through the handle of your suitcase and do the tricep extensions over your head!) Rest about 30 seconds, then repeat for four rounds total.

#

Bottom line, it doesn’t take a gym full of equipment to get a solid workout.

If you want more workouts like this, you’ll get them in the “Extreme Bodyweight Cardio Conditioning” bonus that’s included free with your sign up to this month’s 28-day KB MRT Challenge -> https://forestvance.lpages.co/kb-mrt-challenge-30

Have a great day! –

-Forest Vance, KettlebellBasics.net

“The Best Home Gym Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” – OLGL’s, or One-Leg Glute Deadlifts

You don’t need super-heavy weight to see a major impact and carryover to your squat and deadlift with this exercise.

Set a couple of dumbbells a few feet in front of your flat bench then set up like you were going to do a Bulgarian Split Squat. Make sure the top of your foot and potentially part of your shin is firmly on the bench. We’re not looking for instability here…we’re using the split position to target one side at a time.

Get into the bottom split squat position and grab the dumbbells. Now bring your torso to an upright position while keeping your legs exactly where they are. This movement occurs only at the hips and lower back.

This absolutely HAMMERS the glutes…not only is that working-side glute getting constant isometric tension from holding the split position under load (which is a great stretch), that glute then ALSO works to extend the hip and bring the torso upright at the same time. This is the extension/contraction portion of the movement.

You’re getting TWO levels of tension on the glute simultaneously.

And yes, the first time you do this one, you WILL feel it. Dual-function loading is like nothing you’ve ever felt before.

–

One thing I’m always doing is looking for new, innovative exercises to add into workouts.

A resource like this one is invaluable if you are doing the same:

-> “The Best Home Gym Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of“

It contains 277 incredibly effective exercises (like the One Leg Glute Deadlift) you can do with just basic equipment.

If you are more of an intermediate/advanced trainee, and you understand the basics of program design, this tool is invaluable.

For example, yesterday I was designing workouts for our studio clients for the coming month. I had a slot where I was looking to plug in a single leg hinge movement for four sets of 8. We had done SLDL’s for the last couple of cycles, I wanted something to give a similar effect, but also wanted 
to change it up from a physical and mental stimulus perspective. I found what I needed in this guide!!

This book has a ton of exercises for every major muscle group in your body…chest, biceps, triceps, back, traps, quads, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, calves, and abs…

…literally everything you need for a complete workout using just a few pieces of equipment.

Click here to discover how these unique, new exercises will hit your muscles in ways that beat even the best machines at the gym!

-Forest Vance, Kettlebell Expert, Over 40 Training Specialist