VERY exciting news.

We’ll be hosting a Russian Kettlebell Challenge certification at the new FVT Personal Training and Boot Camp facility in Sacramento, CA September 18-20, 2015!

Get all the details and register here

I attended my first RKC event in 2009 and have been a “kettlebell convert” ever since. I’ve learned most of all I know about kettlebell training from the RKC and the folks involved in / with it … I’ve since attended and assisted at multiple different RKC events over the years … and the quality of instruction and coaching you’ll get at this event is frankly quite rare in the fitness industry today.

If you are an instructor looking to learn how to use kettlebells the RIGHT way, I highly recommend you sign up and start training for it right away.

And if you’re an avid kettlebell trainee who wants to take their kettlebell form and knowledge to the highest level, I also recommend you attend the event and get your KB certification.

Get all the details and register here

As far as I know, this is the first time the RKC has come to the Sacramento area … exciting stuff!

Plus, it’s a great opportunity to come and check out our new facility, and get a little bit of the FVT experience over the weekend as well 😉

Get all the details and register here

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

Things slow down for most of us this time of year … it’s a great time to reflect on all you’ve experienced and accomplished over the last 12 months … as well as to set goals for the year ahead.

And to quote the late great Zig Ziglar:

“A goal properly set is half way reached!”

I have been setting written goals at the beginning of the year for the last 9 years in four areas of my life:

— Personal
— Business / Financial
— Adventure / Toys
— Contribution

And I have a written record of all of it.

It’s AMAZING how the goals I have set each year have almost ALL come true!

A few I am still working on … but I am WAY, way, way ahead of where I’d be if I didn’t go through this process on an annual basis.

I will say that the past three or four years though, I’ve started accomplishing a lot more and have “accelerated my life” if you will in ALL areas … and a big part of this is using the S.M.A.R.T. system for goal setting.

Here’s how it works:

“S” stands for specific. A general goal would be “get in shape”. A specific goal would say “pick a training plan to follow and do it 3x per week”.

“M” stands for measurable. Ask questions like – how much? how many? how will I know when it’s accomplished?

“A” stands for attainable. When you set out to accomplish something and put your mind to it, to begin to figure out ways to make it happen. I think we are capable of FAR more than we think we are!

“R” stands for realistic. To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective that you are both willing and able to work towards.

“T” stands for timely. A goal must be grounded with a time frame. Without this, there is no urgency … and this makes it a lot tougher to accomplish what you’ve set out to do.

For each goal you set, make sure to go through this process … you’ll be AMAZED at the difference it makes.

Now you have a way to set SMARTer goals for the New Year.

Take some time or yourself over this week to figure out what you want to accomplish in 2015.

And let’s have the best year ever!

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

PS – Last day to take advantage of the free give-away offer below, check it out if you haven’t yet:

Been working on a project with three other fitness expert friends of mine. It is shaping up to be quite the free give-away event.

We decided to put this together simply as our way of saying THANK YOU to our loyal newsletter subscribers this holiday season!

We are giving away over 57 BW/KB/DB workouts – totally free.

There is a TON of cool and useful stuff here. I have downloaded and been going through some of it myself over the last couple of days, and am actually surprised at what my colleagues are giving away.

Check this one out, you don’t want to miss it. Click the link below to claim your free gifts now:

=> Free! – 57 BW/KB/DB workouts

Thanks, and Happy Holidays –

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

You love new, challenging, different workouts to mix things up and change your routine.

Maybe you’ve hit a training plateau and need something to snap you out of it and take your workouts to the next level.

Or, maybe you’re just simply looking for a reason to get excited about your training again!

But your current workouts aren’t cutting it. You’re bored with doing the same thing. You’re not getting great results. And you need some kind of progressive routine that fits together, makes SENSE, and will drive you towards your goals of fat loss and lean muscle gain.

Well … I just put the finishing touches on my new and improved Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program … and it’s the perfect solution for you!

In this program, you’ll find TONS (33 to be exact) of new, fun, and exciting kettlebell challenge workouts to add to your current routine.

These 33 new workouts are organized into a progressive, 8 week training plan designed to help you lose fat, gain lean muscle, and get into great overall condition … without ever repeating the same workout twice.

=> See this new program here

The Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program includes workouts like this one (and 32 more):

Workout 12 – Kettlebell and Body Weight Beat Down

Start today with two exercises paired together – the plank and the lunge jump. You’ll do four sets total of each, for as many reps as you can in 25 seconds. Rest for about 15 seconds between exercises.

Second pairing is the standard push up and the KB swing – 12 reps of each, as little rest as possible, as many rounds as you can in five minutes.

Now for a killer finisher. You’ll do seven reps of each exercise without putting the ‘bell down – single arm KB press, KB rack squat, and KB bent row. Then you’ll set the KB down, do seven burpees, and repeat the entire sequence a total of four times (two times on each side).

You may or may not know my personal story (you can see the whole thing HERE), but I lost 64 pounds in 7 months shortly after my pro football career ended – and I’ve managed to keep it off, using a program like this one.

These workouts are designed specifically for YOU if you’re looking to lose fat, gain lean muscle, and stay in great shape – using nothing but a kettlebell and your own body weight, training for about 20 minutes 3-4 times per week.

ALSO … almost forgot 😉 … one of the biggest issues folks have with KB training is safety. They want to make sure they’re doing the exercises correctly, not only to get the most out of them in terms of results, but to stay safe and avoid injury.

So what I’ve done is included TWO great resources to teach you how to use kettlebells safely and effectively.

When you pick up your copy of the Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts program, you’ll also get:

1 – The FVT Kettlebell Workshop Videos

We had a professional film crew come in and film the last Kettlebell Basics workshop we did at my studio. It’s literally the closest thing to attending one in-person, without actually being there 😉 These are typically $97-$197 to attend – and we only do them in Sacramento, twice a year.

In these workshop videos, you will get detailed instruction, coaching, cues, technique corrections, drills, and more on ALL the basic kettlebell exercises, including:

— The Deadlift and variations
— The Swing
— The Turkish get up and variations
— The Clean
— The Press and variations
— The squat
— The Snatch and variations

And much more.

2 – The Ultimate Kettlebell Guide

The Ultimate Kettlebell Guide is your fully illustrated guide to 41 different kettlebell exercises.

PLUS, you’ll get muscle group illustrations for each movement. There are a TON of kettlebell moves explained in this resource. It’s the perfect compliment to the

Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts package – it’s like your own personal kettlebell training encyclopedia!

MAN I am excited about this. It’s a complete – no, ULTIMATE 😉 – kettlebell training program for fat loss, lean muscle gain, and overall fitness.

Click the link below and grab your copy now:

=> Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workouts + The FVT Kettlebell Workshop Video Series + The Ultimate Kettlebell Guide (on sale now!)

Have a great day, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com

Doing mobility exercises on a daily basis for the last 18 months or so has literally changed my life.

Among the differences I have noticed:

— Aches and pains from various injuries have decreased or even disappeared

— I move better and feel stronger and end up moving MORE throughout the day, and as a result I burn more calories and have gotten noticeably leaner

— My workout performance has improved

It’s really amazing how a simple, five minute routine done every morning has made such a profound difference in the way I feel for the rest of the day.

So if you’re NOT doing joint mobility exercises in your current routine – and you’d like to enjoy some of the same benefits that I have – you gotta start!

That being said, I got two resources for you to check out today.

One is the video below. Try the sample joint mobility routine here for 7 days, and see if you can’t feel the difference.

PreHab Revolution – FVT Mobility Exercises

Exercises covered in the four or so minute clip:

— My “perfect posture” drill
— Hip circles
— Forward / back bend
— Side bend
— Waist twist
— Arm circles
— 3 way neck
— Shoulder shrugs

Second is my PreHab Revolution program. It’s the full package that’ll help you improve mobility, strengthen your core, reduce chronic pain, and get into great condition in less than 30 minutes per day. Learn more about that here:

=> PreHab Revolution

If you’re not currently doing joint mobility exercises as part of your training routine, START. You’ll be AMAZED at the difference it makes!

Train hard, and talk soon –

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

A little less than 9 years ago, my football career came to an end. Half of my life up to that point – over 10 years – had been invested in being the best I could be at my sport. I played all four years of high school, five years in college and two in and out of the NFL.

So it was quite the transition. And going from working out hours per day with a very specific purpose, to NO directed workouts at all, and no real purpose to train for … real quick I was out of shape.

One day, I saw this picture of myself:

And decided enough was enough. I set out to train six days per week, plan my meals religiously and get to my “fighting” weight of 246 (at the end of the summer after my senior year of high school I was weighing in at 246, and that’s when I had been in the best shape of my life, up to that point).

So I started on the plan. Things went very well at first, if I remember correctly, the first 10 or 20 pounds came off very fast – within the first month or so.

But pretty soon, the weight loss started to slow down. I hit a plateau for a few good weeks, and it was very frustrating.

At this point I was training by myself. All my strength workouts, all my cardio sessions – I was doing them alone.

I realized that I had trained in a team environment, been around like-minded people working towards a common goal for more than 10 years. And I realized that that’s what I needed again to kick-start my progress again.

So what I did at the time was 1) take two or three spin classes per week at the gym I was working at, and 2) lifted with the guys I worked with at the gym two or three times per week.

That snapped the plateau. In fact, it took me all the way to my goal weight in about 7 months. And I KNOW that getting around other like-minded people was the #1 factor that helped me really reach my ultimate goals (and maintain them until now, I might add):

So, if YOU are struggling, if you’re at a plateau … if you feel like your workouts and your nutrition is pretty good, and you can’t really figure out why you’re not making progress … this could be the missing factor for you.

And, the exact type of support you need is individual to you. Maybe it’s a spin class. Maybe it’s a training partner. Maybe it’s a boot camp in your town (if you’re in the Sacramento, CA area, I invite you to come in for a training session at our gym!)

I have just put the finishing touches on a new project that I think will also be a great solution for a lot of folks. It’s called the FVT Inner Circle.

=> FVT Inner Circle (new and improved)

I am going to put together a new body weight and kettlebell – based workout every month for FVT Inner Circle members (the first one is already up). The workout will include a written manual, as well as video coaching.

I also am giving the official FVT Meal Plan away for free to all members – to make sure all nutritional bases are covered.

So you’ll have everything you need, you’ll know exactly WHAT to do to reach your fitness goals.

But then, as you go through your workout, as you need motivation, coaching, if you have questions for me personally, whatever – you can post them in the group forum, and we’ll be there to help you along the way.

If you have questions about exercise technique – I got you. If you want to post a video of you doing an exercise to make sure your form is on point – you can do that. If you just are feeling lazy and need some motivation to work out that day, post as well – and the group will be there to get you on the right track!

=> FVT Inner Circle (new and improved)

I’m very excited about this new project, and hope you’ll join us, and at least check it out. But the moral of the story is, wherever you’re at, get some help and don’t go at it alone. Find the best solution for YOU, whatever it is. And see your results blast through the roof!!!

– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II