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"Last Call" Kettlebell Fat Blaster Quickie Workout

Here's another great AND quick Kettlebell workout for you. This one I really, really liked and since it only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish you can do it pretty fast. Enjoy!

The theme is: "Last Call"

This is how it goes...

Your Warmup: 3 Rounds at 42 seconds each

Kettlebell Slingshots (Pass the kettlebell around your waist with your feet together[or one foot off the floor for added balance work] while keeping your hips & shoulders square & core activated with belly button drawn in.)

Figure 8's To A Hold

Jumpin Jax

Your Fat Blaster: Continuous running clock to 15 minutes.

There are 3 groups to pick from based on fitness and conditioning level. Choose which group you are in and stick with that one for the entire 15 min. For example: If you like the spiderman pushups in Group C, but cannot perform the other 2 perfectly, then you must be in Group B. Your overall goal is to go as fast as you can inside of the 15 minutes to get as many rounds as possible. Then when you perform this Fat Blaster again you beat your previous amount of rounds. Another goal is to move up to the next group if you are not in Group C.  Remember to choose only one group and stick with it.

Group A

5 Wall Pushups (pushups on the wall due to inability to perform them on the floor yet)

15 Bodyweight Squats

1 Stair Climb (We have 4 flights[10steps] that we go up and down. If you don't have stairs simply perform a very fast walk or jog about 50-100 yards- preferably uphill.)

Group B

10 Pushups (standard pushups on floor. Knees are not advised; however if you choose to use them your future goal will be to get off of them.)

20 Bodyweight Squats

2 Stair Climbs (the climbs can be at any pace as long as you are moving as fast.)

Group C

15 Spiderman Pushups (every time your leg comes up that's one rep.)

25 Jumping Squats

2 Stair Sprints (This is an all out sprint as fast as you can go up all 4 flights or sprinting for distance if you are without stairs.)

Cooldown:

Synergy Yoga

Practice at your own risk, be safe and have a lot of fun on your Kettlebell fitness journey.
Comment below and tell me how it goes.

"Whirlwind Of Pain" Ultimate Kettlebell High Intensity Workout

Ok so tonight's Synergy Kettlebell Kamp was an awesome one. In fact I was told that it was THE TOUGHEST workout that I have ever given. I'm not sure that I'd say it's "THE" toughest, but definitely pretty darn close.

But I want you to be the judge. Do this one and let me know exactly what you think. If you like it, I'm gonna create more just like this one.

Here is the "Whirlwind Of Pain".  And to get the full experience here's the exact Fat Blaster white board from this very workout. Enjoy! :)

"Whirlwind Of Pain"

Warmup: R4, S35 (4 rounds, 35 seconds each)

Burpees (You should know exactly what these are and they ARE ALWAYS fun.)

Capoeira Lunges (reverse lunges with your stance starting with your feet wide like you're sitting on a horse and when you lunge your right leg back your right arm goes up and across your body. Do the same for your left side. For a quick video of this click on the exercise name. In the video you will see the demonstrator not bring his back lunging knee to the ground, as we do in all lunge forms. This is because he is not performing the lunge version, but instead the Ginga technique. What we're doing is the ginga mixed with a lunge. So that being said, you will bend your back knee as close to the ground as you can get and then return to the horse stance position. After that fluidly perform the next side so that your movement looks like his.)

Pump (This is essentially peforming an downward & then upward facing dog, as in Yoga. Once you get to the up dog position shout out: "What's Up Dog?!"... just kidding!  ANYWAY, once you get to that up dog position you will very subtly rotate your hips and head to the right, then left, and then return back to down dog. Rinse, Wash, Repeat.)

Sling Shots (Stand with your feet together and hips & shoulders square to the wall in front of you. Keep them that way while passing the Kettlebell around your waist.)

Core Dominator:

100x Situps (Yup... 100 situps. Ready?! Go!!!)

Your Fat Blaster: 40/30/20/10 reps

Perform the number of reps of each movement for each round. First round is 40 of everything, second is 30 of everything, and so on. For the thrusters and cleans do 20 right and 20 left of each and then 15 & 15, 10 & 10, and 5 & 5. If you use 2 bells simply complete the total reps equally for both arms. 

Kettlebell Thrusters- R&L (Begin with the Kettlebell in the rack position on the right side and then squat down. As you go up do so as quickly as you possibly can while pressing the Kettlebell overhead into a lockout position. Be sure to move your legs super fast. The faster you do the easier it will be to get your Kettlebell overhead. Also each time you lockout your arm make sure your bicep touches your ear.)

Darcy Swings (These are hand to hand Kettlebell swings. You swing as normal and switch at the top.)

Pushups (Regular old military style pushups. Push your heels into or toward the floor, knees locked, thighs & abs super tight, and then exhale as you push away from the floor. Ladies or weak girly men you may spread your feet wide to better support your hips and make it easier for you.)

Cleans- R&L (Kettlebell cleans)

Cooldown:

Synergy Yoga

Guidelines To Follow:

1. Keep in mind that if you cannot perform each movement straight through without stopping to get your number of reps don't worry. Take that 5-10 second recovery break and get back to it. 

2. If you throw up don't worry about that either. You are simply "resting". Finish your rest and get back to it. 

3. If you need a drink. Drink fast and get back to it. 

4. Use a heavier bell for this workout. Step up at least one size higher than you normally use. Guys feel free to double up and use 2 bells (of your normally practiced weight) and only use one (heavier one) for the Darcy Swings.

5. Time your workout. The Warmup and Core Dominator doesn't need to be timed. I only want to know about the Fat Blaster portion. That's the 40/30/20/10 part. 

6. Tell me exactly how you felt, what you thought, and what your time was for the Fat Blaster portion.

Good luck and have fun! :)

Roller Coaster Comfort Zones & Blatant Honesty

Over the past few weeks I've been talking with my clients, my family, and especially myself about getting too comfortable in our own lives and actions. When this happens we can fill a rut with ourselves and the almost impossible task to move forward becomes so challenging because we fill our lives with said comfort. I just wanted to say something real quick about comfort. It is habit for us to live in our zones of comfort and it can be next to impossible to escape them. We do the same workouts, eat the same crappy foods, listen to the same boring music, and wake up every morning knowing our days are gonna be filled with the same overall scenes. Because we're humans we enjoy repetition and we enjoy knowing what our next move will be. When we can predict our outcome since we do the same things over and over and over again it becomes our routine.

Based on my own personal study and research, alongside countless others such as Ori Hofmekler, Mark Sisson, Brad Pilon, and Michael Pollan to name a few, I have found what, when, and how I recommend to be the best for overall optimal health, well-being, energy, ongoing detoxing in a world with constant toxins, fat loss, lean maintenance, allergy reduction, anti-estrogenic effect, increased libido, better sleep, and the list goes on. If you follow everything precisely as recommended results happen. BUT leaving comfort zones is the biggest struggle to overcome.

Keep one thing in mind, no one successful has ever gotten that way by remaining comfortable. In order to grow, find success, achieve results, and become who we want we must become uncomfortable. Yes fear is always present, but the rewards are far greater than the sacrifices made.  I'll be brutally honest for a moment, cause you all know me to not hide behind anything, LOL... I've been doing this long enough to know when a client is not following as they should nutritionally in their daily eating habits. When they do, they
experience results. When they don't, they blame me and my program or not working as expected. This couldn't be further from the truth, but happens all the time. Why do you think people jump around from gym to gym, fitness program to fitness program, diet to diet? Sure there's A LOT of crap out there, but I know mine is one of the best. That is my ultimate goal for you to experience.

Ok so without anyone thinking I'm being elitest or vain here in that my program is the be all to end all please understand that I don't think that one bit. What I do realize and know for a blatant fact is that my program works, has worked for hundreds of clients over the years, and my nutritional program works right alongside it. A human body is a human body and most respond well to similar needs with minor tweaks and necessary mods along the way. As long as the appropriate fitness & nutrition protocols are consistently followed, results happen. This does require a jump outside your comfort zone. Sure you can stay there and see results, but they will honestly be no where near what you can experience if you jump outside it.

In my Synergy Kettlebell Kamp and private training program I strongly encourage all my Kettlebell Klients to keep a Daily Food Diary so that they instantly are perpetuated outside their zone of comfort. I want them so uncomfortable that they have to make changes. Heck when that happens they're happy Klients aren't they? They come to me to experience change and if I allow them to follow right down the same path they were in before joining my Total Fat Blasting & Get Stronger program then they will simply stay as they were. That's NOT the plan.

Our Synergy Fat Blasting Plan will accomplish 3 main things.
1. Make you aware of what you are consuming. This is extremely important. Food is used for 2 main things: Fat or Fuel.
2. Make you accountable to me and your program.
3. Make you leave your comfort zone and experience results.

Stay in your rut and be comfortable. Leave your zone and feel the pain of a little physical discomfort, but never again feel the mental discomfort of seeing an unsatisfactory image in the mirror, feel how tight your pants are, see your belly bulge, feel your soft arms, see your energy plummet half way through the day, or feel your age set in each and every day. Things change all the time. Wonder why? That's life. We're not supposed to get into ruts. We're supposed to challenge ourselves and be better. Sometimes you just don't know how to do that. I have some ideas. I can help and will.

The Anatomy of Kettlebell Training: The Swing

The "style" of kettlebell training I practice is called Girevoy Sport or G.S. It is a fluid style where the body works as efficiently as it can to move the weight throughout the given range of the desired movement. Our goal is to primarily achieve an overall strength endurance so we only utilize the necessary muscles without purposely and needlessly over exerting as taught  by other schools or styles. G.S. has been the original and predominate kettlebell training style used by those who developed kettlebells in Russia and all other 'styles' of kettlebell training have derived from it.  I do believe in the Bruce Lee method of training which suggests to use what works and leave that which does not. So this is naturally how I practice and teach my methods.

When beginning Kettlebell Training, or any exercise for that matter, one must learn to crawl before walking and running. All too often we get "runners" from day one and then they get hurt and confused. Slow down and learn the basics so that the advanced, when and only when, you're ready will be much easier to learn and manage.  Kettlebell training is, in my opinion, the best method for overall strength endurance, fat blasting, cardio endurance, toning, joint stabilizing, and so much more in the most efficient movement patterns inside each workout. One of those movements is the Swing.

The Swing is the foundational movement for everything standing up with the Kettlebell. The movement called the Clean and the Snatch all root directly to that of the Swing. So when beginning Kettlebell training it is vital to do hundreds and even thousands of swings so that you learn how the body is supposed to move and flow with momentum with the bell. To give you an idea, I'll go a bit further into the anatomy of the swing itself. This is what I call: "A Lesson In Kettlebell Crawling".

The swing is but a supporting movement in order to strengthen the posterior chain(everything in the back of your body or what you don't see in the mirror when looking into it) primarily as well as the anterior chain to give support to the posterior. In the movement the body and brain become stronger and more efficient in lifting in that motion so that a natural progression to either the clean or snatch can be made quite effortlessly. Again it is entirely about efficiency and moving efficiently in these movements from one to the next. As long as you progress when you are ready each movement will flow into the next in such a way that there will be very little effort applied by the Crawler so that when beginning to Walk you'll have a strong leg to stand upon.

Swing Practice

The easiest way to picture the starting posture I would say to picture a football player who's about to hike the ball.

The legs do in fact bend- it may have been difficult to see in the baggier pants I was wearing. In the forward bending of the swing the spine remains nuetral in that my head follows the bell instead of looking up or straight. When that happens, as in other teachings, the cervical spine impedes. Instead of driving with the legs as in a push press, which recruits the quads a bit more than needed or desired, the hamstrings and glutes are actively recruited to move the bell throught the motion of the swing from between the legs to chest height. The hips are driven upward by these primary muscles as fast as needed in order to create momentum on the bell enough to get it to between chest and eye level height. The arms are used as little as possible and are only a support to the lower body in the entire movement.

Anatomy of the Swing

1. The Grip That Matters Most: When you start, have the bell about 1 foot in front of your feet. Grab the kettlebell in the opposite corner of the bell than the hand that is working with it. NEVER grab the middle of the bell- ever. So if your swinging with you're right hand you grab the left corner and if you're working with your left hand grab the right corner(as pictured) Make the "OK" sign with your hand and put the thumb over the top of the finger. Very, very lightly grip the Kettlebell with your forefinger and thumb- which is called the Lock Grip. The strongest part of your hand is between your forefinger and thumb so it's best to use that area. The other three fingers can be present on the handle, but just don't squeeze with them. By doing that the bell handle will not be aligned efficiently in your palm. 

2. What Goes Up: To initiate the swing bring the bell between your legs touching your forearm to your inner thigh as high up on the groin as possible. As soon as your forearms touch your inner thigh move your legs and hips as you would to stand up straight. This will engage your hamstrings and if you do it fast enough the bell will move upward by the momentum of your legs. Imagine that you do not have arms, but only legs and the bell moves solely by the leg and hip generated momentum. 

3. Must Come Down: When you go down allow gravity to bring the bell down without actively trying to get it there. Afterall it's going down on its own anyway so let it and simply use your arms to guide it where you want it to go. When it goes between your legs direct the bell so that your forearms again touch high on your inner thighs. This will look kinda like the stance football players get into when they hike the football. Then without blinking an eye begin your upward thrust of your hips again. Thrust your pelvis & hips upward, which will create the needed momentum to bring the bell up to just above chest height. When performing the swing never allow the bell to travel above eye level. So that being said, you will always have the bell travel between your chest and eye level on each and every Swing motion. 

4. Idle Hands: You will do very little with your arms. In fact relax both arms and hands as much as possible. Don't have a death grip on it and when you move the weight up, from the thrust of your hips, ever so slightly pull the bell inward so your arms very slightly bend, but not too much. The bell should feel weightless in your arms and hands due to the momentum you generate from your hips.

5. Crack Walnuts With Your Butt Cheeks: When you thrust the bell up with your legs and hips be sure, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, that you squeeze your glutes(butt muscles) as hard as you possibly could. I mean squeeze those suckers so hard that you can crack a walnut between your cheeks. AND u can practice that with your friends for some weekend entertainment... SERIOUSLY though that's how hard you've gotta squeeze your glutes when you thrust the bell upward. That way your lower back turns off as much as possible and your core turns on. If you feel your back working that's okay. Remember we're primarily working the posterior chain and that's the back*. We just want it to work as little as possible compared to your hamstrings, glutes, anterior core, and upper back.

6. Final Thoughts: If you feel your lower back work a lot, first don't be alarmed cause it will be working, but just consciously squeeze your glutes harder. If you're a beginner in your Kettlebell practice don't be surprised if you feel your lower back working a lot and getting stiff after the first couple workouts. That's normal and I encourage you to remember that feeling and focus on cracking your walnuts so that the stiffness doesn't continue to happen. We don't want your lower back to be working predominately over your hamstrings, glutes, and mid-back/shoulders. Keep in mind that the bell should feel weightless in your arms and hands due to the momentum you generate from your hips.

To help you picture it better here's a couple videos by 2 men I very highly respect in Kettlebell technique.

1. AKC Master Coach Mike Stefano teaches the G.S. Swing

2. Honored Master of Sport Valery Fedorenko(who is what Tiger Woods is to golf and what Michael Jordan was to basketball, Valery is to Kettlebell Lifting Sport) performing the Snatch and you can clearly see the blend of the Swing and the Snatch flow together.



7. Suggested Perfect Practice: To get started with kettlebells, and build the proper mind/body connection as well as propell your strength onto new levels, my suggestion is to perform a routine of 100 swings each day for 30 days above and beyond your everyday activity. When you're done that will be 3,000 swings total.  The weight does not need to be a lot. Kettlebell training is about ongoing practice and movement efficiency.

What's Coming Next: In the next segment on the "Anatomy of Kettlebell Training" we will be breaking down the Clean and Overhead Lockout aka Long Cycle. This is my all time favorite Kettlebell movement and targets every single muscle in the body by incorporating 2 pulls and 2 pushes inside of the one movement. If there is one movement that you can do for the rest of your life that will give you the absolute best overall strength and fitness results Long Cycle would be it.