The Tense-Relax Method is a quick way to gain muscle flexibility. You alternate between tensing and relaxing muscles in a certain sequence. It’s one of the big things emphasized in the Hyperbolic Stretching program that helps you do the full splits in 28-30 days without a warm up.

I’ll give you a brief explanation of what’s going to happen in your body as you go through the stretching exercises – then go check out the full routine here:

1- First, get into your stretching posture and stretch as far as you can go.

What happens here is that the myotatic reflex takes over and makes the stretched muscle tense, so you can’t stretch any further.

But with the Hyperbolic Stretching method, you consciously tense the already stretched muscle… and then something called the reverse myotatic reflex happens. This means your neuromuscular system will let you stretch a little further.

2- After a few seconds, release the conscious tension and move about half an inch further into the stretch.

3- Then, tense the stretched muscle again consciously, and another reverse myotatic reflex will occur.

4- Once again, release the tension and move a bit further into the stretch.

5- Repeat one or two more times until you reach your maximum stretch.

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What you’re really doing with the tense-relax protocol is affecting and changing your neuromuscular memory system.

After a few weeks, your body will relearn and replace the old tension reflex with a reversed-tension reflex, making it possible to stretch all the way down to a full split.

The precise exercises you need to do, how to do them, how often, and much more is in the full program.

But hopefully today’s article gives you a better understanding of how the Tense-Relax Method works and why it’s so successful in producing quick results.

Click here to check out the Hyperbolic Stretching program now.

And all the best with your success!

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

I can’t live without my daily flexibility routine. It does wonders for improving movement, energy, workout performance, and so much more.

I’ve barely missed a morning stretch in the last 10 years, and I can tell you from experience – when I miss it, I feel it! I’ll feel stiffer, more sore, and like I’m more injury-prone during my workouts.

Here’s an example of what my daily flexibility series might look like… (this one is actually from the Hyperbolic Stretching 28-day Challenge where you’ll build up to doing the splits):

• Standing straddle with alternating toe reach – 3x:10 per side
• Lying piriformis stretch – 3x:10 per side
• Standing forward fold “head to toe” stretch – 3x:20
• Toe flex – 3x:10 per side
• “Drop stance” hip flexor stretch – 3x:15 per side
• Seated straddle split stretch – 3x:15 per side
• Standing quad stretch – 3x:20 per side
• Lying abdominal stretch – 3x:15

*For exercise breakdowns and demos, check out the full Hyperbolic Stretching 28-day Challenge course here.

Flexibility will help your kettlebell training, and in many other areas of life. Incorporate a daily stretching routine to see the best results in the shortest amount of time. I highly recommend the Hyperbolic Stretching 28-day Challenge. Click here to try it now.

To your continued success!

-Forest Vance, Master of Science – Human Movement, Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, Kettlebell Expert, Over 40 Training Specialist

A while back, I completed a 30-day Challenge that consisted of mental, physical, and spiritual tasks to help you become a better person, live out your purpose more fully, and serve others.

It was an amazing experience…I won’t go into all the details here…but the main point I want to make is that part of the Challenge involved doing 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:

-> “Physique Zero” Pull Up Progression Method + Full “2x Your Push Ups in 30 Days” plan

There was a system where you’d gradually increase the number of push ups you did 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 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

This program is designed to increase reps and volume each day for 30 days. You need to see the full plan to understand how it works, but this should give you a general idea. There is both a beginner and advanced version of the program so you can start with the plan that works best for you depending on your fitness level.

For the full program that will help you do more push ups, click the link below:

-> “Physique Zero” Pull Up Progression Method + Full “2x Your Push Ups in 30 Days” plan

Good luck doubling your push ups in 30 days!

-Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Over 40 Training Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

Kettlebells are great for working your abs and core muscles, but there are extra things you can do if you want to focus on this area specifically. 

It may sound strange, but many people have extremely weak “deep abs”, leading to a “pooch belly”. 

By doing this short, 30-second “ab vacuums” trick daily, you can actually PULL in your stomach, causing it to FLATTEN out and shrink your waist! 

The great thing is that, when done regularly, this simple exercise can shrink your stomach 1-2 inches – WITHOUT changing your diet or adding any workout program. They even help to strengthen your core and support a healthy back. 

Here’s a quick and easy way to do ab vacuums (instructions):

— You can do them standing, seated (like in a car), kneeling in a four-point position, or even lying flat on the floor.
— The movement is as easy as pulling your belly button in as far as you can by pretending you’re trying to touch your belly button to your spine. Hold for 10-20 seconds at a time.
— Start by taking a deep breath in. As you exhale, start pulling the belly button in towards the spine and hold it there while taking short breaths. Repeat for several of these 10-20 second holds, around 5-10x if you have enough time. But even just repeating 3-4x can really make a difference over time!

If you found this helpful, there are 100 more abs / fat loss tricks like it at the link below:

-> 101 Sneaky Weight Loss Tricks

You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference it makes when you combine a few of these together and how much faster you can reach your goals!

I know from personal experience that all the little things add up when I’m trying to get in top shape.

Let me know how it works for you if you decide to give it a try! –

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach
Kettlebell Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

One of the most common kettlebell mistakes we see is the squat and front raise error. In a proper, ‘hip-driven’ Swing, the kettlebell is hiked back between the legs, and the arms only do around 10-20% of the lifting. But when someone makes the squat and front raise error, they perform a squatting pattern with the lower body followed by a front raise-type motion. In this case, the arms have to do around 50-60% of the work.

Here are two tips to help fix this flaw:

1. Try the Towel Swing

The lower body is what drives movement; the arms are just along for the ride. A good drill to perfect this is the towel swing.

To perform the towel swing, you do your two-handed swings with a towel wrapped around the horn of the ‘bell and grabbing the ends of the towel. To maintain tension on the towel through the entire movement, you have to use your hips and direct energy efficiently to the ‘bell. It’s a great drill because it’s very self-correcting. Do a few swings with the towel and you’ll naturally use your lower body more and your upper body less as you get feedback from the towel.

2. Think of ‘hiking’ the ‘bell behind you as it comes back

Squat down and raise the kettlebell up in front of you instead of hiking it back and snapping it up. The bottom of the ‘bell should actually face the wall behind you or pretty close to it when the KB is hiked back.

One of the most frequent mistakes with the Kettlebell Swing is the Squat and Front Raise error. This happens when the trainee uses a squatting, knee-dominant movement during the ‘down’ portion of the Swing and as a result over-involves the arms in finishing the movement. The tips in this article will help you fix and correct this flaw; good luck with your kettlebell lifting and keep training hard!

• Forest and the Team at KettlebellBasics.net

PS – If you enjoyed this article on fixing mistakes with the kettlebell Swing, stay tuned – the registration for my 28-day Kettlebell Basics Challenge with weekly LIVE workouts / technique workshops opens tomorrow, October 18th!

When people get enthusiastic about losing fat quickly, I see the same error made over and over again:

They create a diet based on what they “think” it should be.

For example, they might have raisin bran and half a grapefruit for breakfast, hard-boiled eggs, toast, carrot sticks, and a diet soda for lunch, a large salad (with a lot of ranch dressing) for dinner, and celery sticks for snacks.

This might last a couple days before their willpower wears out and they go back to getting fast food after work.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone, and it’s not your fault!

There are a lot of issues with the diet I just described, which I don’t have time to go into detail on in this message. But the bottom line is that you’ve probably never been shown the RIGHT way to diet and get lean.

If you’re interested in a plan with a solid scientific foundation and a long history of successful clients, I recommend the UFL (Underground Fat Loss) program. You’ll join the many others who have transformed their bodies and lives:

-> UFL (Underground Fat Loss)

-Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach
KettlebellBasics.net

I hear people complain all the time about how the timing is never right to start their kettlebell journey.

They’re waiting for work to slow down, or for their schedule to be perfect, or for their vacation that’s coming up in six weeks to end, or for their kids’ activities to go on break.

But guess what?

There is never going to be a “best” time to finally get serious about your kettlebell program.

The truth of the matter is that if a person keeps kicking the can down the road with this mentality, they’ll never get around to starting.

If you need help getting started, I may have some spots open in my kettlebell coaching program. I’d love to help you reach your fitness goals. Visit the link below to apply.

-> KB Fit Over 40 – Personalized Coaching with Forest

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We are all human, and I fall into this same type of thinking from time to time too!

I’m usually pretty consistent with my fitness, but something I’ve been noticing about myself recently is that it’s carried over into my business life.

We recently relocated and are now living in a new state that’s about 1,500 miles away from our old home.

Overall, it’s been great and a really positive move!

However, I’ve been kind of wishy-washy with what’s next for our business. I’ve been considering a lot of different possibilities and directions to go in… and I realized recently that it’s been keeping me from taking the kind of action I should be!

So I decided that, you know what, I’m going to work with what I have right now and make it happen and see where it takes me.

I have a lot of things I CAN do when it comes to helping more people and growing our business… and so I’m going to focus on doing that!

That positive action and energy and momentum is going to build and take us to the next level.

I’m not going to wait for the perfect building to come up for sale or lease to do business out of, or for the perfect business to go up for sale that I can take over, or for the perfect opportunity to partner with someone that’s perfectly aligned with what we’re trying to do, or whatever else.

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Even if you’ve been consistent in the past – like I have been for years in my business – you can still hit a rut from time to time.

And that’s okay!… but sometimes you also need a outside perspective.

I got the insight I just told you about from my business coach.

Maybe you need some insight on your fitness program from fitness coach?

If you need help getting started, I may have some spots open in my kettlebell coaching program. I’d love to help you reach your fitness goals. Visit the link below to apply.

-> KB Fit Over 40 – Personalized Coaching with Forest

If you’re looking to improve your fitness with kettlebell workouts, there’s no time like the present! Starting is always the hardest part, but once you get going, you’ll be glad you did.

-Forest Vance
ForestVanceTraining.com
KettlebellBasics.net