One of the two major flaws of the Kettlebells pointed out when discussing them with people is the fixed weight of the bells.
Most of the time I hear it when talking to people who primarily train with dumbbells, barbells or bodyweight- exercises.
You know what... They are right.
You can take a dumbbell, barbell and scale it to your exact needs. You can control and scale you progress better.
With a kettlebell you will have to work up to a higher amount of repetitions before you can progress up to a bigger bell.
Well, I still consider Kettlebells one of the best tools around, simply because you can work with them girevoy-style, meaning the sport-competition-style with maximum efficiency or you use them in a more powerlifting-like-style.
It is simply a weight. ;-)
Another major concern of people is, what happens with their money once they have "outgrown" a certain Kettlebell- weight.
For example:
If you have worked up to 200x Snatches and an insane amount of Clean & Presses with the 16kg Kettlebell or if you extended your Timed Sets of Snatches and Clean & Jerk all up to 10min with only one hand- switch most people are ready for the 24kg bell.
Nice...
But what about the 16kg?
People are always afraid the bells become useless and something standing in their house or apartment gathering dust.
Well...Let me tell you a story.
I got two 12kg Kettlebells. I do not work with them...I bought them for teaching purposes only. They are simply too light to deliver any effect when training with them.
That´s my comment before "Never Let Go" by Dan John.
One chapter is the Tabata Protocoll.
8 Rounds with each 20sec. Work(as many reps as possible) and 10sec rest.
I did this before, only with Bodyweight Exercises...Those already where like some medieval torture!!
Just try it whith Bodyweight- Squats or Burpees... ;-)
Now I added weight to the Tabata Prot..
2x 12kg Kettlebells used for Front Squats in the Tabata Mode...
Well...after the last set I could make it to the fridge, get some milk and back to my desk...That is where I stayed for about 15 to 20min... My quads were completly tense from all the blood and I could almost not bend my knees...The muscle simply wouldn´t let me stretch it...
What did I and what can you learn from my experience?
If you think a weight is too light, you havn´t cranked up the intensity high enough!!
As always, make sure you have a good atheltic base befor trying such insane intense workouts!!
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Freitag, 29. Januar 2010
Montag, 25. Januar 2010
EDT - 2nd Phase
I started my first EDT- cycle back in autumn.
http://mpbody.blogspot.com/2009/10/loaded-conditioning-its-hell-and-you.html
EDT = Escalated Density Training.
But lets keep it simple. Pick two exercises and do them back to back for 10 to 20min.
Use total body exercises and medium to heavier weights. (Don´t go all out with the weight. You have to work as fast as possible and heavy weights, a lot of volume, little time and a athlete on a non-professional-level almost every time equal deterioration and injury.)
Take one pushing and one pulling exercise.
For example use a Clean & Jerk with one or two kettlebells and do as many explosive, precise repetitions in the given time interval as possible.
Another idea I first got from Ross Enamit and David Whitley is to do one time interval with focus on the legs, e.g. with Cleans and Squats, and one with focus on the upper body, e.g. with Military Presses and Pullups, Bent-over Rows, etc.
I started my new cycle a few days ago.
The first workout consists of 15min C&J with two 24kg Kettlebells and 15min of Sandbag(50kg)- Carry.
I progressed from the last cycle by exchanging the two 16kg Kettlebells.
Progressing in the cycle can be done by first increasing the time and then the repetitions.
You can use every (odd) object to do EDT- style training, if you do not have weight simply use BodyWeightExercises, go out into nature and pick up stones, logs, etc.
Start your EDT- Training with lighter weights and progress if you can easily go all-out.
Be careful not to overreach when starting training with such an intense workout- mode!
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
http://mpbody.blogspot.com/2009/10/loaded-conditioning-its-hell-and-you.html
EDT = Escalated Density Training.
But lets keep it simple. Pick two exercises and do them back to back for 10 to 20min.
Use total body exercises and medium to heavier weights. (Don´t go all out with the weight. You have to work as fast as possible and heavy weights, a lot of volume, little time and a athlete on a non-professional-level almost every time equal deterioration and injury.)
Take one pushing and one pulling exercise.
For example use a Clean & Jerk with one or two kettlebells and do as many explosive, precise repetitions in the given time interval as possible.
Another idea I first got from Ross Enamit and David Whitley is to do one time interval with focus on the legs, e.g. with Cleans and Squats, and one with focus on the upper body, e.g. with Military Presses and Pullups, Bent-over Rows, etc.
I started my new cycle a few days ago.
The first workout consists of 15min C&J with two 24kg Kettlebells and 15min of Sandbag(50kg)- Carry.
I progressed from the last cycle by exchanging the two 16kg Kettlebells.
Progressing in the cycle can be done by first increasing the time and then the repetitions.
You can use every (odd) object to do EDT- style training, if you do not have weight simply use BodyWeightExercises, go out into nature and pick up stones, logs, etc.
Start your EDT- Training with lighter weights and progress if you can easily go all-out.
Be careful not to overreach when starting training with such an intense workout- mode!
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Dienstag, 19. Januar 2010
Kettlebells for Fat Loss
http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/studies/Kettlebells012010.pdf
Very nice article, the link/information was provided by David Whitley, Sen. RKC via Facebook.
Good to have something printable to throw at people who recommend jogging for fat loss...
Well, partially I´m kidding. ;-)
But, all jokes aside, it is always nice to have some data which supports the individual and personal experience.
Intensity and a total body effort is essential for the transformation of body and mind.
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Very nice article, the link/information was provided by David Whitley, Sen. RKC via Facebook.
Good to have something printable to throw at people who recommend jogging for fat loss...
Well, partially I´m kidding. ;-)
But, all jokes aside, it is always nice to have some data which supports the individual and personal experience.
Intensity and a total body effort is essential for the transformation of body and mind.
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Mittwoch, 13. Januar 2010
Code of the warrior - TRAIN TO WIN
(This is actually a transcript of a recording from 2,3 nights ago when I woke up in the midle of the night, thinking about the blog- entry but i was still to perplex to write. :-D )
Earlier this evening I had a conversation with a friend about, well, I guess Ying&Yang, 0 and 1, black and white, training and regeneration.
This entry is about "Train to win". So... What does winning mean?
Who is the winner?
The last one standing.
In the end, no matter what you do, all that matters is that you are still standing.
You need to train hard enough to being able to deal with everything.
Your body needs to be able to handle every load, strain possible.
Your mind needs to be able to deal with every threat, get your body up even after been beaten down one time too often.
You need to rest hard enough to give your body and mind the possibility to rebuild, reshape itself and emerge even stronger from the trauma of the training, its´ intensity, its´ raw energy.
Train to win.
Today, tomorrow. Anywhere. You never know...
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Earlier this evening I had a conversation with a friend about, well, I guess Ying&Yang, 0 and 1, black and white, training and regeneration.
This entry is about "Train to win". So... What does winning mean?
Who is the winner?
The last one standing.
In the end, no matter what you do, all that matters is that you are still standing.
You need to train hard enough to being able to deal with everything.
Your body needs to be able to handle every load, strain possible.
Your mind needs to be able to deal with every threat, get your body up even after been beaten down one time too often.
You need to rest hard enough to give your body and mind the possibility to rebuild, reshape itself and emerge even stronger from the trauma of the training, its´ intensity, its´ raw energy.
Train to win.
Today, tomorrow. Anywhere. You never know...
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Sonntag, 10. Januar 2010
Code of the warrior - KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR
Family, the job, self- development, be it physically or mentally, relationships,...
All that is hard work.
All the points of the "Code of the warrior", Focus, thinking ahead, taking responsibility, no whining, etc. help us to get to the point, get the job done.
One thing we have to remember:
KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR.
Taking the hits, keep on getting up, keep on moving forward.
Sometimes it´s hard, sometimes it´s very hard.
Keep your sense of humor, smell the roses along the way.
That way, it will be a little bit more bearable, you will get a little further down the road with each step.
You will be beaten down, struggeling to get up and still you will be able to see and admire, enjoy and draw strength from the flowers, the green grass growing on the floor you have been beaten down to...
Confidence, in yourself and the universe around you, allows you to keep your sense of humor.
But you already kNow that, don´t you?
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
All that is hard work.
All the points of the "Code of the warrior", Focus, thinking ahead, taking responsibility, no whining, etc. help us to get to the point, get the job done.
One thing we have to remember:
KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR.
Taking the hits, keep on getting up, keep on moving forward.
Sometimes it´s hard, sometimes it´s very hard.
Keep your sense of humor, smell the roses along the way.
That way, it will be a little bit more bearable, you will get a little further down the road with each step.
You will be beaten down, struggeling to get up and still you will be able to see and admire, enjoy and draw strength from the flowers, the green grass growing on the floor you have been beaten down to...
Confidence, in yourself and the universe around you, allows you to keep your sense of humor.
But you already kNow that, don´t you?
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Freitag, 8. Januar 2010
Code of the warrior - KEEP YOUR WORD
Self- respect. Planning. Thinking ahead.
A warrior knows himself, even if ever-changing, knows what is honorable.
When you don´t know it and not got ther courage to admit it: keep your mouth shut, listen and learn.
When you don´t know it and got ther courage to admit it: say so and listen so you can learn.
When you know it: say so. But most important: Stand by it.
Keep your word, one, a warrior, is only as good as her/his word.
Everything can be taken from one, you and me, but never our integrity.
KEEP YOUR WORD, it is the foundation of self- trust and trust in others, respect, honor.
Keep your word.
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
A warrior knows himself, even if ever-changing, knows what is honorable.
When you don´t know it and not got ther courage to admit it: keep your mouth shut, listen and learn.
When you don´t know it and got ther courage to admit it: say so and listen so you can learn.
When you know it: say so. But most important: Stand by it.
Keep your word, one, a warrior, is only as good as her/his word.
Everything can be taken from one, you and me, but never our integrity.
KEEP YOUR WORD, it is the foundation of self- trust and trust in others, respect, honor.
Keep your word.
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
Mittwoch, 6. Januar 2010
Crassfit - Whenever, wherever
Yesterday we got together for another CrassFit- Training in Linz before I´m off to Graz again.
About 5°C below zero, a small playground and a huge parking lot beside the Danube.
The more I train, the more I get to know all the sophisticated workout- and programming-approaches, the more I like the KISS- principle.
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid.
E.g.: You want to develop work capacity and muscles?
Ok, do a lot of work followed by a lot of food.
Simple:
We did 80 Hindu- Squats and some Joint Mobility to get the blood-flow going.
Well...we always got our body with us. The brain...mhm...I guess that´s a trick question, I´m not always sure about that.
We hit rope- pullups at the playground with a pyramid of 7 reps.
"Pyramid" means the repetitions go up and down again, so everybody did 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,... reps one after another.
Bodyweight again. Simple.
After that it was time for Clean & FrontSquats with two Kettlebells, in my case two 24s.
So you do 1 Clean per Frontsquat.
We hit a pyramid again with 1,3,5,7,9,7,...reps.
You need 2 weights for this one. 2 Kettlebells, 2 dumbbells, same or different weight... It doesn`t matter.
To mix things up if you already can wor with 2 24kg Kettlebells, pick up your estimated 55kg girlffriend(they behave like barbell-plates: if you can´t read the weight when looking at them, don´t even bother asking them...You ´ll get no answer. ;-D ) throw her over your shoulder and do the squats.
For the sake of the relationship, don´t do a clean after every rep. Believe me...Bad Mojo Guys!!
So...we hit the whole body with a nice volume of Strength- work.
What does this mean for a CrassFit- Workout??
Right... Time for Conditioning.
Since we all were quite beat, already got kettlebells in our shaking hands(not sure if the cold or the lack of strength was to blame), we did 2 short rounds of Swings, Cleans, Push Presses, High Pulls and Pushups involving the Kettlebells.
Nice.
Well...Lets not talk about the last drills we did with the sled...You know, dragging, pulling, swings(yeah, your read correctly...). It was fun, really, but...Lets not talk about it.
CrassFit in Linz...
Training with motivated people, obeing the KISS- principle, working hard.
Oh... By the way, one short tip for you since I got some experience with CrassFit:
If you ever attend, drive up to the meeting- point, get your stuff together and before you walk up to the training- site: leave your ego in the car.
Believe me, you don´t want to have that with you, it´s just ballast!!
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
About 5°C below zero, a small playground and a huge parking lot beside the Danube.
The more I train, the more I get to know all the sophisticated workout- and programming-approaches, the more I like the KISS- principle.
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid.
E.g.: You want to develop work capacity and muscles?
Ok, do a lot of work followed by a lot of food.
Simple:
We did 80 Hindu- Squats and some Joint Mobility to get the blood-flow going.
Well...we always got our body with us. The brain...mhm...I guess that´s a trick question, I´m not always sure about that.
We hit rope- pullups at the playground with a pyramid of 7 reps.
"Pyramid" means the repetitions go up and down again, so everybody did 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,... reps one after another.
Bodyweight again. Simple.
After that it was time for Clean & FrontSquats with two Kettlebells, in my case two 24s.
So you do 1 Clean per Frontsquat.
We hit a pyramid again with 1,3,5,7,9,7,...reps.
You need 2 weights for this one. 2 Kettlebells, 2 dumbbells, same or different weight... It doesn`t matter.
To mix things up if you already can wor with 2 24kg Kettlebells, pick up your estimated 55kg girlffriend(they behave like barbell-plates: if you can´t read the weight when looking at them, don´t even bother asking them...You ´ll get no answer. ;-D ) throw her over your shoulder and do the squats.
For the sake of the relationship, don´t do a clean after every rep. Believe me...Bad Mojo Guys!!
So...we hit the whole body with a nice volume of Strength- work.
What does this mean for a CrassFit- Workout??
Right... Time for Conditioning.
Since we all were quite beat, already got kettlebells in our shaking hands(not sure if the cold or the lack of strength was to blame), we did 2 short rounds of Swings, Cleans, Push Presses, High Pulls and Pushups involving the Kettlebells.
Nice.
Well...Lets not talk about the last drills we did with the sled...You know, dragging, pulling, swings(yeah, your read correctly...). It was fun, really, but...Lets not talk about it.
CrassFit in Linz...
Training with motivated people, obeing the KISS- principle, working hard.
Oh... By the way, one short tip for you since I got some experience with CrassFit:
If you ever attend, drive up to the meeting- point, get your stuff together and before you walk up to the training- site: leave your ego in the car.
Believe me, you don´t want to have that with you, it´s just ballast!!
Train hard and enjoy life!
All the best,
Harry
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