“Why Get Ups” an article by David Whitley, Master RKC

Do you enjoy doing get ups? Check out this great artile by Master RKC David Whitley to answer your quesiton “Why Get Ups?”

Click Here to read the article.

Weekly Practice from the Hardstyle Diva

How can you progress to do a get up with a heavier size kettlebell?
I did this progression on myself to get back up to doing multiple get ups with a 24 kg kettlebell. I had not been practicing heavy get ups and realized I missed being able to just pick up a 24kg and feel 100% confident in the movement. I also tried this progression with our group training class recently and all of the students were able to perform a get up with a kettlebell they had not previously.

** If you are trying a new size kettlebell for the first time, be sure to have a partner to spot when you make your heavy bell attempt.

Choose a your normal size Kettlebell for a Get-up -then select one smaller and one lager. You should now have three kettlebells of varying sizes.
1) Begin using your smallest size bell and perform 3 get ups in a row per side.
2) Now switch to your medium bell and perform 2 get ups in a row per side
3) Lastly switch to your heaviest bell and perform 1 get up per side



I will stress again, if you are lifting your heavy bell for the first time, be sure you have someone to spot you on your attempt.

Perform the above progression 2 -3x. Not only will you find you may be able to lift a heavier bell, but you also got a nice 15-20 minute practice.

I would now follow this up with Swings – heavy of course. Set your timer for 10 – 15 minutes and again choose 3 bells. Using the protocol below, enjoy!
1) Light Bell – 20 swings – perform 3 rounds with 1 minute rest between rounds
2) Medium Bell – 15 swings – perform 3 rounds with 30 sec rest between rounds
3) Heavy Bell – 10 swings – perform 3 rounds with 15 sec rest between rounds


I also added the short video below by Dave Whitley, Master RKC (aka Irontamer), with some pointers on performing his “Furnace” workout.

Enjoy and let me know your feedback!
~hd

Getting Stronger through Kettlebells

Do you want to get stronger? By strong, I don’t mean bulging biceps and 12 pack abs. I am refering to a strength that will sustain you for a lifetime, keep you pain free and injury free to ejnoy all the things you love doing. The majority of the population has a perception that lifting heavy weights will result in getting big and bulky. I have found just the opposite, that lifting heavy will accelerate fat loss, get you toned and reshape your body. Do you want results quick, Lift Heavy Weights!!

Implementing Kettlebells as my main training tool has helped me reshape my body, loose fat and tone up. I have been working with Kettlebells for 3 years and have made amazing gains in my strength. I have included some videos below to share some of my achievements with you. I can now snatch a 24kg (53lbs) bell for multiple reps and do a turkish get up with a 24kg (53lbs) bell for a total of 18 reps (9 per side). The last exercise may look like it is preformed with much smaller weights, actually it is double 8kg bells (18lbs each), however I would most likely not be able to perform this exercise without consistently lifting heavy weight.

Not all exercises are meant to be a feat of brut strength, but some are meant to be performed with a small or moderate weight focusing more on improving your mobility and stability. Remember that the quality and consistency of your exercise will alter your results!

Enjoy the videos….more to come in August with the 28kg (63lbs), I’ve almost got the 28kg get up on both sides, still needs just a bit of work before I share a video.
~hd

24kg Kettlebell Sntach

24kg Turkish Get up

8kg Double Bottoms up Sots Press

A must have for building stretngth —
Kettlebell Muscle The Secrets of Compound Kettlebell Lifting—for Faster, More Efficient Gains in Strength and Power
Kettlebell Muscle is the doorway to intelligent hypertrophy training. It’s a book about building muscle mass fast. Geoff’s clever use of time is the factor for stunning muscle gains. The tools are simple, the moves are simple, the schemes are simple and the results are amazing.
Kettlebell Muscle The Secrets of Compound Kettlebell Lifting—for Faster, More Efficient Gains in Strength and Power
Kettlebell Muscle is the doorway to intelligent hypertrophy training. It’s a book about building muscle mass fast. Geoff’s clever use of time is the factor for stunning muscle gains. The tools are simple, the moves are simple, the schemes are simple and the results are amazing.

Kettlebell Goddess

Top 5 in 2010…

In a quest to continue to find more ways to optimize my health in 2010, I want to share with you my resolutions for the new year. I have found a passion for promoting good nutrition and forming positive health habits in myself and sharing with others what I discover.

There is a lot of advise out there and a lot to filter through what is best for you. Most of the advise has its merrits and the quacks are usually pretty easy to spot. To begin my top five, I will share with you what I have found to be the most useful blogs, newsletters, websites, etc and ones I will continue to use in 2010:
1) Precision Nutrition – a complete nutrition system proven to produce results and can fit into any lifestyle. Want to know more — contact me at Kristen McByrde
2) Dragon Door – You’ve come to the right place. Dragon Door is the world leader in all things kettlebell—and all things performance-related.
3) Rachel Cosgrove & Alwyn Cosgrove – Fit Female Body Breakthrough / Fitness Training & Athletic Performance
4) The Weston A. Price Foundation – The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies.
5) Mercola – A Natural Health Newsletter whose goal is to educate you and create an awareness that allows you to make smart and natural health choices toward your deepest vibrant health and wellbeing.

Next are my top five rules to a making a Nutrient Friendly Kitchen:
1) Grass Fed Beef – Quite simply put “You are what your Burger (or any meat for that matter) eats” If you are are eating grain fed meats then, you are eating animals that have been “fattend up”. This means that the Fatty Acid profile in less than optimal. Grassfed beef has an 3:1 omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, where trainfed beef has a 17:1 omega 6 to omega 3 ration. Hello Obesity!
2) Protien Shakes – consuming protien shakes post workout is the best time to to replenish what you have depleted from your body during your workout. I am not talking about consuming a sports drink here. Directly following your workout your body is ready use the calories of a quality protien shake in a positive way restoring your depleted energy levels.
3) Go to your local farmers market – learning to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season and organic from your locals famers market will open your tastebuds to new and exciting foods. This will not only force you to eat whole foods in their natural state (meaning not processed foods), but supports and sustains your local community. Get to know your local farmers. The farmers market is not only a place to buy fruits and vegetables, but you can also purchase grassfed beef, free range eggs and raw milk.
4) Supplements – Consume a Green Drink every day. Reccommended products inlcude (Greens+, and NanoGreens). A green drink is not only rich in vitamins and minerals, but phytonutrients. Phytonutrietns have many benefits such as have more energy, strong bones, detoxification, slow signs of aging and lower risk of cancer diabetes and heart disease and many more. Secondly, take Omega 3 vitamins Daily, our western diet is laden with Omega 6 fatty acids and using an Omega 3 supplmentation can help balance out your fatty acid ratios.
5) Raw Milk – notes regarding Raw Milk from www.realmilk.com. Please note that this website recommends Real Milk–that is, milk that is full-fat, unprocessed, and from pasture-fed cows. We do NOT recommend consumption of raw milk from conventional confinement dairies or dairies which produce milk intended for pasteurization. Nor do we recommend the consumption of lowfat or skim raw milk–there are important protective factors in the butterfat. Real Milk, that is, raw whole milk from grass-fed cows (fed pasture, hay and silage), produced under clean conditions and promptly refrigerated, contains many anti-microbial and immune-supporting components. Know your farmer!

In making my lists, I tried to stear away from a “don’t” or “can’t” have mentality. I do not think that telling people lists of things they cannot eat will help in making positive changes in their life. There are not really any foods that we should not eat, just different times as which we should eat those foods. Everyone should get the opportunity to enjoy your favorite “sinful” foods and we all know what they are, there is one more point I do want to make. Beware for the following marketing myths that companies do to try to make their products more attracive, and trust me it’s not to promote your health, but to appeal to your psycology to rationalize eating those foods you know are processed. AND to make them more money. Remember if a product is more than 3 times removed from its original source, it should not have a permanent place in your kitchen. I will reiterate that there are no wrong foods, just wrong times to eat those foods. Rule of Thumb: If you stick to a healthy way of eating 90% of the time, breaking the rules only 10% of the time, this would be considered successful. Do you want to know “the rules” or know how to keep track of your 90%, 10% rule of thumb contact me at Kristen McBryde.

Now finally for my last list of Top 5 Exercises:
1) Kettlebell Swings
2) Kettlebell Turkish Get-ups
3) Kettlebell Goblet Squats
4) Kettlebell Snatch
5) Bodyweight Exercies
Seem a little biased, well mabye a little… Check out our website at Tennessee Kettlebell to learn more about Kettlebells and how they can make a positive change in your life. I guarantee, kettlebells will help you Move Better, Feel Better, Look Better! For more information about Kettlebells contact a local RKC or CK-FMS instructor in your area.

Be Strong & Be Well!
HD

Tennessee Kettlebell Workshop – January 2010

Kettlebell Workshop January 16th at Tennessee Kettlebell led by Senior RKC Instructor David Whitley along with the RKCs in the IronTamer Clan! Sign up and get one free month of Boot Camp! Details below!

Click here to learn more about our new year, new you workshop!

Click here to learn more about Tennessee Kettlebell
Click here to learn more about Nashivlle Kettlebell & Sr. Instructor Dave Whitley

Tennessee Kettlebell, No complicated Machines, just exercises that produce RESULTS…Learn from the ONLY RKC certified instructors in Middle Tennessee…Get Fit, Get Lean, Get Strong at Tennessee Kettlebell!