Whether you’re brand new to KettlebellBasics.net or you’re a long-time and loyal reader, chances are you haven’t really seen all the site has to offer …
We’ve been working hard this week to organize and bring everything 100% up to date. Getting around and finding everything you need to reach your kettlebell training goals should now be easier than ever.
To start, check out the new and updated About page – it outlines all the site has to offer – including now over 119 kettlebell routines, exercises, and videos. Click the link below to go there now:
As you look around, another area I think you’ll really enjoy is the new and updated Kettlebell Routines section – it’s been our most popular post to date and now features over 40 free kettlebell routines! Click the link below to check it out:
It was created in response to frequent requests for fresh and new kettlebell/body weight workouts, videos, and meal planning advice.
Workout plateaus and boredom are two obstacles many kettlebell/body weight training enthusiasts face … and this program provides a great solution. Click the link below to check it out:
The popularity of kettlebell training has exploded over the last several years … and with this uptick in popularity has all kinds of cool gear to make your KB workouts more efficient and fun been created.
That being said, knowing exactly what to get for the KB lover in your life can still be tough … so I’ve come up with this list of 10 gift ideas for the kettlebell enthusiast to get your holiday/kettlebell gift-giving thoughts started:
Kettlebells, books, + DVD’s: A somewhat obvious starting point – but not to be overlooked. Most folks have a new KB book or DVD they want – or a new kettlebell size they need for their collection.
Heart Rate Monitor: Heart rate monitors allow exercisers to establish a target zone and maintain their goals by monitoring their progress on a daily basis. This would give a person who has begun to workout or has the desire to challenge themselves further the ability to accurately gauge their growth.
Gymboss Timer: The beauty of this inexpensive supplemental workout tool is that it can help a person plan and execute their kettlebell workouts, giving them an opportunity to exercise as if they were in a boot camp class because it takes thinking out of the picture. This timer creates structured intervals for a person to move through with any form of workout.
ForestVanceTraining Kettlebell-Themed Apparel: Browse our website with different clothing items and accessories, giving that special someone a way to express their enthusiasm outside of the gym.
Vibram Five Fingers: A type of minimalist shoe manufactured by Vibram, originally marketed as a more “natural” alternative for different outdoors activities (sailing, kayaking, canoeing, and as a camp or after-hike shoe). The footwear has thin, flexible soles that are contoured to the shape of the human foot, including visible individual sections for the toes. Perfect for kettlebell training.
Kettlebell FitDeck Exercise Cards: If you know someone who enjoys working out at home, but is searching for a way to mix up their options, these cards are a great opportunity for them to have variety and create their own workouts. Multiple ‘themes’ of these cards exist, including kettlebells and body weight training.
Jump Rope: This is a great present for a person who is unable to get into the gym on a daily basis, and works out from home because it creates a self controlled cardio workout with very little required space.
Foam Roller: If you know someone who works out often, you can be pretty sure that they deal with aching muscles and soreness, that is where the foam roller comes in. This tool causes self-myofascial release to occur, breaking up tension in muscles and giving a person the benefit of being able to work out regularly with less pain.
MP3 Player: This would make a great present for someone who works out by themselves at the gym or outside, music is a great form of motivation and this provides a person with a great variety to choose from.
Massage Gift Certificate: Massages can help break down lactic acid, loosen up tight muscles, and increase blood flow. This is very beneficial to people who workout often because it can alleviate current pain and help prevent future pain.
In conclusion, more cool stuff exists now than ever before for the kettlebell lover. This is a short list of gift ideas to get you thinking about what to get for the kettlebell enthusiast in your life this year. Happy holidays to you!
Forest
P.S. If you liked this post, please make sure to sign up for my weekly email newsletter while you’re here … you’ll get a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training when you do as my way of saying thanks … just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right of the page to sign up now!
Tuesday 11/8 Update: One day left to grab your fast action bonuses! Also just added a cool preview video to the main page … click the link below to watch and grab your free video and report before time runs out:
Huge thanks to everyone who entered the 10×10 Kettlebell Solution give-away contest … I was seriously shocked by the response. We ended up with 155 comments on the entry post:
My assistant wanted me to pass along that she had a really tough time picking the winners. But we ended up choosing Dave & Jerry … so keep an eye out, I’ll be sending you both info on how to grab your free copies of the full program shortly.
Now, if you didn’t win, no worries … the 10×10 Kettlebell Solution is now officially available, and we’re having a special promotion to kick things off. I’ve put together a special fast-action bonus video and report to go with the program if you pick up a copy before Tuesday night the 8th at 11:59 pm PST. It’s called the ‘4 Secrets to Kettlebell Training Success’, and I think you’ll really like it … head over, get all the details and grab a copy now by clicking the link below:
The 10 x 10 Kettlebell Solution is coming very soon … and you can win a free copy!
** Friday 11/4 contest update: Thanks to everyone who’s entered so far! Entries will be accepted through 11:59 pm PST tonight … hurry and leave a comment to get entered to win. We’ll spend a day going through the results and announce our winners on Sunday 11/6**
It’s a complete kettlebell program – workout manual, video series, meal planing guide, and more – to transform your body in 10 weeks, using just 10 kettlebell and body weight exercises and 10 different workouts. And it’ll be officially available in a few short days …
However, as we get the finishing touches of the delivery process ironed out, and as a gesture of appreciation to you, a loyal reader, I’ve decided to give away two free copies of the program before I officially release it.
All you have to do to win your copy is leave a comment on this post detailing your number one fitness goal … and your biggest obstacle/frustration/etc. that’s keeping you from accomplishing it. I’ll have my assistant go through and pick the best two comments so the contest is as fair as possible. And all I’ll ask for is a little feedback from the winners after they’ve read through the program, watched the videos and tried the workouts themselves.
Leave a comment below to get entered to win … and keep an eye on your e-mail inbox to get first word of the 10×10 Kettlebell Solution’s official release!
I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from folks that are just getting started with kettlebell training …
And I’m realizing that a lot of the kettlebell routines I’ve put up over the last couple of months are geared towards intermediate or even advanced kettlebell enthusiasts.
So I thought I’d shoot a quick video to show you a couple of modifications I use every day with my training clients who are beginners, are still learning and perfecting their form, are dealing with an injury, etc. You can use these mods with many more ‘advanced’ kettlebell workouts to get more out of them (or even be able to attempt them in the first place).
The two modifications I cover in the video are for the two ‘base’ HardStyle kettlebell moves, the swing and the Turkish get up. I hope the video helps you out, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below the post:
P.S. The Kettlebell Basics Swing Manual is a great place to get started if you’re looking to learn the basics of kettlebell training the right way. In it, I go over the sumo deadlift progression I discussed in the video above, along with a ton of additonal technique tips like it … it also takes you through a 12 week program designed for fat loss, lean muscle gain, and kettlebell swing mastery. Learn more about it by clicking the link below:
As an incentive to get folks into my training studio, and to let them ‘try before they buy’, so to speak, I offer prospective new clients a complimentary trial session – they get to tour my facility and go through a short sample workout. I’ve built my personal training and boot camp business around using this offer to get new clients in the door –
During this initial trial workout, I usually can tell within 60 seconds or so (many times even less) a person’s athletic ability, training experience, fitness level etc. One of the big indicators is their ability to effectively produce muscle tension/tightness during an exercise on cue.
Take a simple squatting movement for example: Can the individual maintain midline stability – keep their chest up, shoulders back, and flat back – or do they collapse, round their back and loose tension in their core when they attempt the exercise?
In my opinion, the #1 kettlebell strength building skill is the ability to produce muscle tension and tightness during exercise. This ability will make you instantly stronger, will protect you from injury, and is transferable to many other strength activites. Let’s further elaborate on each of these points:
1. Effectively producing muscle tension makes you stronger instantly
The ability to tense and contract muscles in your body on cue can result in instant strength increases. The basic idea (covered beautifully and in much further detail in Pavel’s The Naked Warrior) is that the average person only contracts 20-30% of their muscles when trying their hardest; learning to effectively recruit muscle tension helps you use more of your available strength at any given time.
An example of this phenomenon is the mother who ‘activates’ a large percentage of muscle fibers (through adrenaline and other stress hormones) to lift a car off of her trapped child – but ends up ripping tendons and breaking bones in the process.
2. Muscle contraction – specifically the ability to brace the ‘core’ – protects you from injury
Relaxing your core during a heavy lift and losing your midline stability not only makes you weaker but it also makes you more susceptible to injury. The core musculature is the like the body’s natural weight belt – and you’re in trouble if you don’t know how to use it.
3. Muscle tension techniques are transferable to all strength activities
Learning how to create maximal muscle tension at the right time is helpful for all strength activities – whether you’re doing pistol squats or heavy deadlifts. And if you learn how to activate extra muscle and strength while performing, for example, a simple body weight – only push-up exercise, these techniques can be applied the next time you attempt a heavy kettlebell press.
Muscle Tension Exercise Example
Let’s do a basic exercise as an example of how to practice this technique –
Start by placing yourself in the down position of a push-up and and tense all of your muscles together before pushing up. If you practice once without pre-tensing and then practice again after pre-tensing all the core muscles you will see the huge benefit that developing maximal muscle tension in an exercise can give you.
The ability to effectively produce muscle tension at just the right time is critical for getting the most out of your kettlebell training. You’ll get stronger, protect yourself from injury, and be able to transfer the skill to all types of strength training. Train hard and talk soon –
Forest Vance, MS, RKC II, CPT
P.S. To learn more about tension techniques I discussed in this article, a great resource is the Naked Warrior by Pavel. The book is about getting strong using your own body weight, but the techniques he talks about are very easily applied to kettlebell training. For more info about the program and to order a copy of the book and/or DVD, click the link below:
Learn how to perform the basic kettlebell exercises
By far, the most popular posts on this blog are the free kettlebell workouts I share on a regular basis …
An important point to keep in mind, though, is that perfecting your kettlebell training technique should come before you start changing up your workouts.
I just went through and updated the kettlebell exercises page with 13 new articles on learning and perfecting all the basic kettlebell drills … click the link below to check it out:
P.S. Make sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter if you haven’t yet … you’ll get new kettlebell training tips just like these delivered straight to your email inbox every week, PLUS a free copy of my ‘Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training’ just for signing up! Drop your name and best email into the box at the upper right hand corner of the page to do so now.
Perusing the fitness/health/exercise section at the local bookstore last weekend, I stumbled upon a new kettlebell training guide I’d never seen before …
There were a huge variety of kettlebell exercises in the book – I’m talking like hundreds.
Sounds cool at first – lots of variety, lots of different kettlebell exercises to impress your friends, etc. …
The problem, though, is that with this much exercise variety, it’s almost impossible to learn all the moves correctly in any reasonable amount of time – especially if you’re a kettlebell beginner.
I can’t tell you how many folks I’ve trained that have started with kettlebells in this info-overload, learn-many-exercises-but-master-none, no-real-structured-program fashion, and upon meeting with me and being put on a steady diet of swings and TGU’s for a month or two, have seen their progress go through the roof!
So, that being said, the best kettlebell exercises for beginners are the swing and the Turkish get up. In this article, I’m going to talk about exactly why these exercises are the best for beginners, explain how to do them, and give you a sample beginner kettlebell workout.
Why the swing and the Turkish get up are the two best kettlebell exercises for beginners
In the HardStyle kettlebell system, everything is built upon mastery of the swing and the Turkish get up. The swing is the ‘base’ balistic exercise, and the get up is the ‘base’ grind.
And this makes perfect sense when you analyse the rest of the basic kettlebell moves (the goblet squat, the clean, the press, and the snatch). For example, in the clean and the snatch, the ‘bottom’ position is identical to the swing; so if you don’t really, really have the swing down, your clean and snatch are going to be jacked up.
The Turkish get up is fantastic for strengthening your wrists, conditioning your forearms, and building the necessary shoulder mobility and stability for doing a great press and snatch. If you can’t lock out the ‘bell overhead at the top position of a get up properly, you sure as heck won’t be able to while you’re doing a clean or a snatch.
How to perform the Turkish get up and the HardStyle swing
Here are two videos I made that show you how to do the swing and the Turkish get up:
Also, here are more detailed descriptions of each exercise that I covered in previous blog posts:
The best workout you’ll find that uses these two exercises is Pavel’s Program Minimum from Enter the Kettlebell. If you don’t have the book yet, and you’re a beginning kettlebell trainee, I highly, highly recomend you pick up a copy.
(For a ‘sneak peek’ of the Program Minimum, check out this blog post from fellow RKC Adrienne Harvey: Variation on Program Minimum)
In short, the best kettlebell exercises for beginners are the Turkish get up and the swing. All other basic kettlebell exercises are built upon these two, so make sure you take your time to master and perfect them before moving on to more advanced drills; you’ll be glad you did. Good luck and keep training hard –
Forest
P.S. Signed up for my weekly newsletter yet? You’ll get a free copy of my Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training when you do … just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right of the page to sign up now!
