I’m so jazzed up on kettlebells right now that I’ve been going back through everything Coach Sonnon has ever said about them. That includes my notes from private coaching, the Foundation DVDs and every clip he’s ever put up on YouTube.
Brilliant stuff! I wish I could share it all with you. But the notes are from private sessions, so that wouldn’t be right. And I can’t very well bootleg his DVDs for you. But I can make it easy for you to view all his KB videos on YouTube. You’ll find them all below.
And if you’re looking for exhaustive and innovative ways to put kettlebell exercises together into workouts for any goal, check out the new Kettlebell Revolution from Chris Lopez.
You can still grab it for 50% off (the sale ends tomorrow though—so if you’re interested don’t forget…).
And I’m still throwing in the three extra goodies I mentioned in this kettlebell post.
In this recent kettlebell post, I pointed out some of the advantages of training with this time tested tool. A little imagination, and the help of a solid technical foundation, allow you to use your KBs for practically any goal.
The most no-nonsense and universally applicable approach to understanding KB mechanics is Circular Strength Training’s 7 Key Components of Structure…
Spinal Alignment
Shoulder Pack
Arm Lock
Grip Confirmation
Core Activation
Hip Recruitment
Leg Drive
All 7 keys are present in any movement. But every exercise requires particular attention to certain keys, and can be used to develop certain aspects of your structure.
In the following clip I present my current favorite kettlebell exercise—although my favorite exercises change constantly as my focus evolves. You’ll be able to see which of the 7 Key Components I concentrate on.
It’s also a great exercise for the core. And here’s an extra tip. The faster you try to get the KB around and back through the legs, the more your core is going to have to work. So forget boring—not to mention injurious—crunches and put the KB-8s to work on your six pack!
It’s a perfect stepping stone. It leads away from the flat world perspective of conventional fitness towards the 6 Degrees Of Freedom attained with innovative equipment like the Clubbell®.
Kettlebell workouts can make us stronger, faster, leaner and sexier. But more importantly, if we use them right they can make us better, more coordinated and more healthy.
There are so many innovative ways that fitness pros around the world are using them. And I’ve got a really good one I’d like to share with you (and an awesome deal for you), but first I want to look a bit more at what it takes to get the most out of your kettlebell experience.
You can’t just pick up a bell and start swinging away. Like any training implement, you need to learn the fundamentals. This is true even of two-dimensional exercises like the bench press. But it’s even more crucial for tools like the kettlebell which add open chained variability to the mix.
I’m lucky. I was spoiled. My technical foundation comes straight from Coach Scott Sonnon. No one breaks kettlebell training down like he does. And that’s because he bases it all on the Circular Strength Training® 7 Key Components of Structure. I got to learn from him first hand in Bellingham, Washington, but his Official Kettlebell Foundation DVD series is the next best thing. I’ve gotten tons of useful reminders and nuances by going back through this material recently.
But don’t take my word for it. Check out this clip of him teaching a key CST kettlebell exercise. Pay attention to all the nuances…
The other thing I love about Coach Sonnon’s approach to kettlebell workouts is that he takes what works and makes the most out of the tool. He doesn’t rely on dogma or on superstition. He doesn’t limit himself to just one “school.” He relies on his Circular Strength Training® foundation and adapts the tool to his bidding.
By taking that approach, you’re free to explore what’s around you. As I said earlier, there are tons of very cool kettlebell workouts from innovative coaches all over the world.
And it just so happens that I met one of them this past winter in Toronto. His name is Chris Lopez. He’s an awesome coach and the father of four beautiful girls. So obviously he’s all about finding effective ways to stay in shape with limited time. This means he’s been doing lots of experimenting with various kettlebell training methods.
He sent me a copy of his new Kettlebell Revolution program last week. (Hmm, did Ryan and I start something with the Bodyweight Exercise Revolution?) It’s full of great ideas on how to use kettlebells for various goals.
My only criticism is based on my earlier affirmation that my exposure to Coach Sonnon has made me a total technique snob. Some of the exercise descriptions and demonstrations lack the nuances that I look for. But if you apply your CST Kettlebell foundation knowledge to Chris’s programs I think you’ve got a real winner.
Kettlebell Revolution is going to be available starting on September 8th. And Chris told me he’ll be offering it at 50% off for the first few days, along with some other bonus gifts to get things rolling.
But because I want to help Chris get the word out, and because I want to add a little CST power to your kettlebell workouts, I’m going to throw in a few goodies of my own if you buy Chris’ stuff through the link below.
Here’s what I’m going to give you…
Kettlebell Compensation Flow -> Everything we do repeatedly causes an over specialization that we need to deal with. If not, our training leads to diminishing returns and eventually injury. I created this Prasara Yoga flow for some of the kettlebell swinging students in my online personal coaching program. This flow truly is exclusive, you’ll be the first to see it other than a handful of my private students.
Kettlebell Keys Primer -> This short clip will give you the basics of proper kettlebell mechanics. For the full deal you’ll have to pick up Coach Sonnon’s Foundation series. Intu-Flow Joint Mobility Primer -> Kettlebells can be tough on your joints, and the only system I’ve EVER seen address this properly is Circular Strength Training®. This little primer runs you through some of the basic Intu-Flow movements that’ll keep your joints healthy even under the load of heavy kettlebell training.
There you are. Three valuable goodies that I’ll throw in with Chris’ Kettlebell Revolution package.
You can register to receive an update as soon as the program goes live. And you’ll automatically get your extra goodies from me when you order (through some special computer voodoo magic that I don’t fully comprehend).
In the meantime, if I get 15 comments on this post I’ll be back next week with a video tutorial of my current favorite kettlebell exercise. It’s one I picked up from Coach Sonnon’s Tacfit program. And it’s lots of “fun.” But I’m only going to film it if we get those 15 comments.
Gyms aren't all bad. There are lots of useful things you could be doing in a health club. Of course, you know that I think the majority of your time would be best spent outdoors or at home with your bodyweight, a Clubbell, a kettlebell, a sandbag or any number of other exercise modalities that take you closer to the movements of life and sport. But that's for another time.
The point here is that there are some downright dumb things that happen in gyms. Some things are just sad because they represent so much wasted time. Others are just plain d-u-m-b!
Today was a beautiful day here in Quebec City. There were tons of people outside on bikes & rollerblades or just out for a stroll. It was great to see. I had to be in the gym for some clients for a while. The place was almost empty (bravo). But our number one dumbest thing I saw in the gym today was... Somebody climbing steps!
For one thing, it was beautiful outside. For another, Quebec City has more flights of long steep steps than any other city I've ever seen. So if ya wanna climb steps, get out of the gym!
The other thing they were doing wrong is just climbing, climbing, climbing at the same slow pace the whole time. Why not hit them hard for a bit, then slow the pace for a while. Or better yet get off the climber between intervals and do some joint mobility or flow yoga (à la Intu-Flow and Prasara).
Training with intervals has been proven time and again to outperform steady state cardio for fat loss and cardiovascular benefits. Why do we insist on maintaining our clutch on the chronic cardio?
The prize for the second dumbest thing I saw in the gym today goes to someone who was confident in the "functionality" of what he was doing.
Heavy biceps curls with each foot on a balance disk.
It looked like a circus side show.
First off, I'm not too keen on biceps curls to begin with. They have their uses for certain people at certain times. But if I'm using them with someone, it's to specifically address certain concerns related to hypertrophy or strength of the elbow flexors. At that stage, we're a long way off from applying that strength functionally. So why would you add instability to such an isolated exercise? I thought about that all the way home in the car and couldn't come up with any decent reasons.
And even if I was trying to add functionality to an exercise, rarely would I add the balance challenge to the bottom of the feet. It is very rare to a apply force in real life or in sport from a position of instability at the contact point between the ground and the foot. Even in sliding sports like skiing we create a solid platform between the snow and the foot through the edges of the ski. In cutting during field sports the foot is planted solidly to allow the application of force.
Very rare are occasions when the foot is not in solid contact with something. So why are so many trainers using instability under the foot? Doesn't it make much more sense to apply instability from the other end of the chain? That's why I love Clubbells so much. They're the perfect tool to add instability and chaos to the structure while working through a solid foundation underneath.
Anyhow, those are the two dumbest things I saw in the gym today. What have you seen lately?
If you are interested in kettlebells, or already use them but are looking for guidance and resources to help you improve, you are in the right place. You can get quite far studying on your own using YouTube alone. But you have to scour the internet to find the gems amidst the muck.
To save you the trouble, I've assembled many of the highlights here in one post.
Think of this as your KB 101 class. Study the videos below, and you will have gone a long way towards understanding how to use kettlebells safely and effectively. I stole this idea from the guys over at the grok.com blog.
There are tons of other good clips out there. But I think these serve as a great starting point. Then it's up to you to explore...
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Let's start with all the free stuff Coach Scott Sonnon has put up on the internet, as he has been pretty generous with his material. This is an impressive library and gives you just a tiny taste of what you get with his Official Kettlebell Foundation DVD set. The neat thing about Coach Sonnon's approach is that he delivers a holistic base of knowledge and practical strategies to not only have you using the kettlebell correctly, but to keep you healthy through compensatory exercise and mobility.
Scott Sonnon Kettlebell and Clubbell Yaw Press
Rounded Back Kettlebell Swing
The Best Kettlebell Exercise for Groundfighters (Quarter Get-Up)
The Best Kettlebell Exercise for Fighters (One Arm Long Cycle)
Scott Sonnon's #2 Top Kettlebell Mobility Drills
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Other Informative Kettlebell Tutorials and Clips
CrossFit Kettlebell Swings
How to Quickly Master the Kettlebell Jerk (from KettlebellAthletics)
And even if I was trying to add functionality to an exercise, rarely would I add the balance challenge to the bottom of the feet. It is very rare to a apply force in real life or in sport from a position of instability at the contact point between the ground and the foot. Even in sliding sports like skiing we create a solid platform between the snow and the foot through the edges of the ski. In cutting during field sports the foot is planted solidly to allow the application of force. 
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