I remember back when I first started lifting weights, I followed a bodybuilding protocol.  I would target 2 or 3 different body groups and perform 3 or 4 different lifts per body part.  I would then follow a schedule that prescribed that I work each body part twice weekly.  The lifts targeted specific muscle groups and not the body as a whole.  The results were muscles that were not as strong as they appeared.  I certainly didn’t have any real world strength.  What I could do was perform barbell curls with a ton of weight.  Big f*#k’n deal.

What has changed for me during the last half of my lifting career is that I now focus on becoming strong and being able to use my body as one.  Who gives a crap how much you can curl unless you are training specifically to be a bodybuilder.  Beyond that, your focus should not on performing single joint, specific muscle targeted lifts.  Your body does not work that way in the real world and you shouldn’t train it that way in the gym.

Enter the kettlebell and the combination lift.  With a kettlebell, it is possible to create a workout by putting together a sequence of lifts that target multiple muscle groups or even the entire body in one superset.  Not only will you be working your entire body, you will be able to do it effectively in a very short period of time. 

The key here is to complete each set without putting the kettlebell down between lifts.  Transferring from one hand to another is ok but parking the bell is a no no.  Not only will you get a heck of workout in a very short period of time, but if you use your imagination, you will defeat one of the top reasons why people don’t stick with their workout routines; boredom.  Face it, we all get bored from time to time if we do the same things over and over again.  If you take every kettlebell lift and pick your favorite 3 or 4 or 5 lifts and combine them, you create for yourself a never ending list of workouts always different and more challenging from the last. 

Here are a few exaples for you:

Clean / Press / Squat
Clean / Squat / Press
Swing / High Pull / Snatch / Press
Double kettlebell front squat / Double kettlebell press / Alternate kettelbell cleans

….and the list goes on.  One of my favorites is to add a get up at the beginning of the lift and then reverse it after the last rep.  In other words, start your combination lift lying on the ground and finish in the same fashion.  You can design your combination lifts to be all slow grinds or all explosive lifts or a combination of the two.  You can perform 2 or 3 lifts that target a specific group of muscles or the whole body.  I prefer the latter but it is up to you.  Perform the combo lifts for reps or for time. 

The thing to remember is to get creative and forget about what you have been taught in the past.  To steal a saying from Nike, just do it.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – I will soon be adding a members area to the blog.  In the past I have stopped short of giving to many specifics in my posts but in the new premier members area, I will go into great detail about how to properly perform each lift, in depth strategies for improving your strength and conditioning, grip strength and what ever else I can think of.  I will also be revealing all the tools I use in addition to my kettlebells.  More videos, audio interviews with top trainers and much more exclusive content.  If you are a regular subscriber to my FREE blog, you will be the first to know when we go live so you can be the first to get it.

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first.  

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Ever hear the saying; variety is the spice of life?  How true that statement is in every single aspect of or lives.  Sure, we like getting into a daily routine.  It enables us to get stuff done efficiently without too much thought.  It makes us feel comfortable and secure.  It also can be a hindrance in our quest for personal growth, both physically and mentally.

You always hear those self help gurus telling you that in order to grow as a person and achieve your dreams, you are going to have to get out of your comfort zone.  In other words, you might have to change what you are doing to change the results you are getting.

This is also true for your strength and fitness goals.  If you repeat the same workout over and over and over again, in a surprisingly short period of time, the results you got early on will become nonexistent.  You will essentially be wasting your time.

Our bodies are absolutely remarkable in so many ways, not the least of which is in our ability to adapt to and overcome stress.  The old saying, “that which does not kill me only makes me stronger” must have been said about strenuous progressive resistance training otherwise knows as weight lifting.

I still remember boot camp in the military.  The drill instructors goal was to create as much stress as possible without actually shooting at us or having bombs fall on the roof of the building we were in.  There are many reasons for this, chief among them was to prepare us for the possibility of going to war.  I cannot imagine a more stressful situation then being engaged in a battle for you life and the life of your buddies.  By creating an enormous amount of stress during basic training, the instructors were teaching us to adapt and overcome under stress, both physically and mentally.

To a much lesser degree, strength and conditioning training does the same.  It creates circumstances in which are bodies must adapt to an inordinate amount of stress so that the next time we are faced with a high level of physical and mental stress, we will be better prepared for it.  In the case of weight training, our muscles grow bigger and our tendons and ligaments grow thicker and stronger. 

Now, knowing that our bodies have an amazing ability to adapt to stress, we must find ways to continually mix it up so our body essentially never stops making progress.

Typically we add more weight to our lifts, thus adding more stress to the workout.  Provided we complete the workout for the same number of reps in the same amount of time, the added weight means we worked harder this workout then in the last.  Unfortunately, just adding weight is not always enough. 

In comes cycling.  No, not the Lance Armstrong kind, I am talking about cycling your training so that your body does not completely adapt and you never stop progressing.

I have used cycling in my workouts to great success over the past 10 years.  Before that, I was following the workouts in all those muscle magazines and experiencing less then expected progress.  Cycling has enabled me to see more progress in one year then in the 15 plus years before I started doing it.  I essentially lifted the same weight for the same reps over and over and over again.  Not a good way to grow.  I have been incorporating cycling in my workouts for about 10 years and can’t imagine what it was like before.

Here is an example of a linear cycle.  Lets say that your starting weight is 100 pounds and your goal is to progress to 145 pounds in 10 weeks.  The specific lift isn’t important for this example.  During week 1 you would lift 100 pounds for the prescribed number of reps and then week 2 you would increase the weight by 5 pounds.  Keep doing this each week until you reach your goal of 145 pounds.  Now take a break from this lift for a couple of weeks and begin a new cycle. 

Our goal this time is 155 pound in 10 weeks.  So, we plan the workouts backwards from 155 and find that week one’s starting weight is 110.  We progress like we did during the last cycle and on week 10, we have increased our best lift by 10 pounds.  Rinse and repeat.   Now, it is slightly more complicated then that but you get the picture. 

In addition to the linear cycle, we could employ a wave cycle or a step cycle.  We can perform each cycle for 10 weeks or 12 weeks or even 16 weeks.  We can even break up the cycle into 2 week mini cycles knows as Russian block training.  If you are a regular follower of my blog, you know what I’m talking about.  (See the post titled, “Return of the Kettlebell”) 

Also keep in mind that cycling is not just limited to strength training.  It is beneficial in your conditioning work as well.

 If consistent progress is your goal, give cycling a go.  I promise you that you will experience gains like never before.   

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first. 

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Day 8 – 9-21-09

Grind block – light day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 16kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3 x 3 cycles
•    1 x 2 cycles
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 16kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 23 minutes

Music selection – Rush

Random Thoughts

• I altered slightly this workout from what is prescribed in Return of the Kettlebell.  The light day ladders calls for 5 ladders containing 2 rungs less then you performed on your heavy day.  The medium day would be 1 less rung.  As I talked about last week, I had a misunderstood of how I was supposed to be performing the ladders so I only performed 3 ladders and attempted 5 rungs.  Should have been the reverse, 5 ladders containing 3 rungs.  With that said, today’s workout would have been 5 ladders with 1 rung each.  So on my heavy day from week 1 I performed 3 ladders, 2 of which had 5 rungs and 1 containing 2 rungs.  Today I improvised and did 1,2,3 x 3 (2 rungs lower then my best on my last heavy day) and 1 x 2 (2 rungs lower then my last ladder on my last heavy day).  Clear as mud right?  On my next heavy day, I will attempt 5 ladders, each with 4rungs with a pair of 24kg bells.  I should be able to get at least 3 ladders with the prescribed 4 rungs.  The last 2, provided I can’t get my 4 in good form would contain 3 or possibly 2.  My next light day should be back on track. 
• Still feeling the affects of my last heavy day which was only 2 days ago. 
• Starting to become comfortable with 2 kettlebells of differing weights.

Day 9 - 9-22-09

Variety

Bent Press – 20kg kettlebell

• 2 (reps) x 5 each arm

RKC Arm Bar – 16kg bell

• 5 minutes randomly switching arms

Pinch-block Lifts – 25lbs

• 5 x 3

Stretching  – Concentrated on shoulders and upper torso. 

Deck of Card Tear

Total workout time - 30 min

Music selection – Metallica

Day 10 – 9-23-09

Grind block – medium day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 20kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3,4 x 3 cycles
•    1,2 x 2 cycles
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 20kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 30 minutes

Music selection – Godsmack

Random Thoughts

• Feeling a little rundown from the cumulative affects of the workouts.  My shoulder feel tired.  One problem that I have always had is the inability to hold back during workouts that should be light.  I tend to do to much on my variety days.  Tomorrow’s lift has to be light or I’m going to start seeing diminished results.
• Need to concentrate on leaning into the press and not back.  Leaning backwards is not healthy for the back and will eventually result in injury.  I started to feel it a bit in my back because I caught myself leaning backwards slightly.
• I need to do a better job at contracting the glutes to protect my lower back.  There were times during this workout where I felt myself being too loose in my lower body.  Again, this is a recipe for disaster as I continue to climb the ladder and the workouts become more demanding.

Day 11- 9-24-09

Variety

Lateral raises – very light – 10lb plate – 10×3

• 2 (reps) x 5 each arm

Turkish Get-Ups – 16kg bell

• 5 minutes alternating arms

Hindu Squats  – 20 x 2

Stretching  – Concentrated on shoulders and upper torso. 

Total workout time - 20 min

Music selection – Black Sabbath

Day 12 – 9-25-09 Rest

Day 13 – 9-26-09

Grind block – heavy day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 24kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3,4 x 3 cycles
•    1,2,3 x 2 cycles
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 24kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 37 minutes

Music selection – Metallica

Random Thoughts

• Tough workout but I felt very good throughout.  I forgot to do squats at the end of the first ladder so I made them up at the end.  No worries though.
• One problem I have had in the past is leaning back and not staying tight, especially in my glutes.  Today I focused on that and felt zero strain on my lower back.
• Between ladders I perform very light presses and lateral raises with a 5 or 10 pound plate.  Just 5 of each and then I stretch the shoulders and shake out my arms.  I fell a noticeable difference in the recovery between ladders when I do the light presses and lateral raises.  Active recovery definitely works.

Day 14 - 9-27-09 – Rest

Week 2 wrap-up

I started the week feeling tired and rundown and was almost certain I was going to have to take off an extra day.  I think the main reason for this is that I find it very difficult to lay off during my variety days.  The second variety day this week was only 20 minutes long and I did a good job of laying off and performing some very light work to just get some blood flowing.  Seemed to work because I felt great going into my heavy day.

I am beginning to acclimate to the use of 2 kettlebells.  As I have said, I for the most part have only trained with 1 bell with the occasionally double kettlebell alternate clean or the sea-saw press. 

I completed so far all the scheduled workouts and feel physically very good going into week 3.  Week 3 will begin the explosive block phase giving me a break from pressing for the next couple of weeks.  Should be fun. 

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What kind of exercise routine should I be on if I want to lose weight?  What kind of foods will help me get rid of the fat around my belly?  Is there a kettlebell exercise that will help tone my butt and my stomach? 

Those are the kinds of questions I routinely get asked or see asked of other fitness experts.  I will tell you up front that I am in no way an expert in nutrition.  It’s the one area of my fitness life that I will admit is less then perfect.  With that said, I am confident that I eat much better then the average person. 

I think deep down inside, most people have a good idea of what they should and shouldn’t eat anyway, they just don’t put into practice what they know, even if that knowledge is limited.  So keeping that in mind, I won’t even make an attempt to deceive you by telling you what your diet should look like.  There are other places you can go to educate yourself about diet.  Our purpose here is to discuss the working out part of your weight loss efforts.

The kettlebell is a handy tool that you can use to burn calories while gaining muscle and building strength.  You can employ this tool to achieve your weight loss goals without the dishonor of dieting or aerobics. (I stole that line from Pavel but I don’t think he will mind).

One of the absolute best ways to burn fat, increase conditioning and increase your strength is by employing short bursts of high intensity work sandwiched between short periods of active rest. 

Before I go on any further, an explanation of active rest is necessary.  Remember back in gym class when you teacher told you after you were done running that you needed to walk around to cool off.  You see elite athletes doing it all the time.  This goes against what your body wants to do after a strenuous workout.  Your body’s natural inclination is to sit or lie down and rest.  Now in most cases, your body will tell you what it wants and it is almost always right.  Not this time.

When you lie down after any strenuous activity, your heart must work overtime to keep the blood pumping so that it can deliver oxygen throughout your body.  The muscles in your legs help this process along.  When the muscles in your legs contract, blood is pumped out of them and to other areas of the body.  Your heart, also a muscle does the same but the muscle that is your heart is obviously much smaller and can’t pump the volume of blood that the much larger more powerful muscles of you legs can.  When you prematurely begin resting, you don’t get the added benefit of recovery that your legs deliver.

So, during our workouts, especially one involving short, high intensity lifts, it is critical that you continue to move around, run in place, stretch, or whatever you like, just as long as you don’t sit down and rest.  You will find that you will actually recover faster by moving around.  Thus, we will be “actively recovering”. 

Ok, with that in mind, let’s take about the workout.  I’m not going to go into the ins and outs about why this is an effective way to loose weight and improve conditioning, you can research that on your own.  Hell, you might not even care so long as it works. 

You can pick any dynamic kettlebell lift you want.  My suggestion is to employ the kettlebell snatch.  Again, there are reasons why this lift is superior to some of the others, reasons I won’t get into in this article.  Suffice to say, the energy used to perform the snatch is far greater then a lift like the swing.  This is one of the main reasons you should consider using it.

Use a kettlebell lighter then you would normally use when you perform your snatches.  I routinely perform kettlebell snatches with a 24kg bell or heavier but when I perform my snatches using the protocol that I am about to describe, I use a 16kg bell.  The ladies should use a 8 or 12kg bell.  Very strong men can use a 20kg.  Our goal is to burn fat and improve our conditioning, not to see how much weight we can lift.  Trust me when I tell you that a 16kg kettlebell is more then enough weight. 

To keep this simple, we are going to use the 30 / 30 protocol.  It is not the optimal time but again, we need to keep it simple until you get the hang of it. 

What 30 / 30 refers to is 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off.  Perform as many kettlebell snatches as you can in 30 seconds and then actively recover for 30 seconds.  Each time you do this, you have completed one cycle.  Don’t kill yourself trying to perform 20 or 25 snatches in 30 seconds.  15 or 16 would be a pretty good pace to strive for.

Your goal should be to perform in the neighborhood of 20 cycles for your given rep range.  When you get to 20 cycles, add a rep or two per 30 seconds and work your way back up to 20 cycles. 

Perform this protocol twice weekly and don’t worry if you can only perform 4 or 5 cycles, we all gotta start someplace.  Add 1 or 2 cycles a week and enjoy.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first. 

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You hear trainers all the time telling you to stay loose.  When you swing a golf club, shot a basketball or throw a javelin, loose and relaxed it the prescription for success.  Want to move a lot of weight in lifts like the military or bench press and tight is the only way to go.

If you are going to perform a lift such as the kettlebellmilitary press, and you are looking to press a lot of weight, you have to learn how to create tension in your whole body, from your toes gripping the ground to your hand crushing the handle of the bell.  Each and every muscle in between has to be tense.  Become a pillar of granite.  Lose the tension and you are going to be leaving a lot of weight on the table, or the ground as the case may be.  Learn proper tension techniques and your ability to lift more weight will instantly increase.

A good way to learn to create tension throughout your body is with the kettlebell bottoms-up press.  Simply clean a kettlebell into the rack position with the bell above the handle.  You will note that you must squeeze the handle very hard in order to even keep the kettlebell in this position.  To get it above your head will require you to create tension throughout your body and power breathe as you press the weight.  Keep an eye on that sucker at all times.  They tend to hurt when they fall on your head.

Start with a light kettlebell and press it like it weighs a ton.  Learn to create this kind of tension with a light weight and when you pick up a heavy bell, it will feel light and you will be lifting it over your head without hesitation.  Your friends will be awestruck at your rapid strength gains.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first. 

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DAY 1 9-14-09

Grind block – light day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 16kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3 x 3 cycles
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 16kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 22 minutes

Music selection – Iron Maiden

Random Thoughts

• Today was the first day employing the Return of the Kettlebell protocol.
• Lifting 2 different size kettlebells was certainly different and felt awkward.  I felt like I was off balance.  Started to get accustomed to it as the workout progressed.
• 24Kg was heavy with two bells even though one was much lighter.  Reaching my goal with two 24’s will be a challenge.
• Rested 4 minutes between pressing cycles.
• Sumo squats weren’t necessarily hard but did create a pretty good burn in the quads.  Good for the grip strength.
• Overall a good workout.

 DAY 2 9-15-09

Variety

Bent Press – light – 16kg kettlebell

• 5 x 3

RKC Arm Bar – 16kg bell

• 5 minutes randomly switching arms

Pinch-block Lifts – 25lbs

• 5 x 3

Stretching  – Concentrated on shoulders and upper torso. 

Deck of Card Tear – Still attempting to master this.  I can tear a full 52 card deck but it’s a struggle to get through it. 

Total workout time – 29 min

Music selection – Judas Priest

DAY 3 9-16-09

Grind block – medium day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 20kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3,4 x 3 cycles
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 20kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 24 minutes

Music selection – Metallica

Random Thoughts

• I have traditionally found it hard to hold back on my light days.  Day 1 was a light workout and didn’t really tax my system that much.  Today, although a medium effort day began to put some stress on my body.  I upgraded to a 20 and a 24kg bell and added an extra rung to my ladders.  The last rung of the last ladder was a challenge requiring total focus.  Day 5 will be my first heavy day and after today, I anticipate I significant effort will called for.  Looking forward to testing myself.

Day 4 9-17-09

Variety

Turkish Get ups - light – 16kg kettlebell – Concentrated on form.  Usually perform this with a 24kg bell.  Felt very good.

• 5 min. switching sides for every rep.

Stretching

Turkish Get ups – 16kg

• 5 min. switching sides for every rep.

Windmills – 16kg kettlebell

• 5 x 2 each side

Pinch-block Lifts – 25lbs

• 15 sec static holds x 3 each side.

Stretching  – Concentrated on shoulders and upper torso. 

Total workout time - 32 min

Music selection – various artist

Day 5 – 9-18-09 -rest

Day 6  – 9-19-09

Grind block – medium day

Double Kettlebell Military Press / Squat 24kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    1,2,3,4,5 x 2 cycles
•    1,2,3,3,3 x 1 cycle
•    5 front squats on last set of each cycle

Sumo Squat 24kg & 24kg kettlebells

•    20 x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 32 minutes

Music selection – Metallica

Random Thoughts

Lifting weights should be looked upon as practice and I always strive to be better each and every workout.  Better technique as well as a better understanding of how and why I’m doing what I’m doing.  On day 6 I learned a major lesson.  Despite everything I think I know and all the experience that I have over the years in the gym, I don’t always know what the heck I’m doing.

I really screwed up today.  I realized that I have been doing the ladders incorrectly.  What I had hoped to complete today was this; 1,2,3,4,5 x 3.  Meaning 5 rungs on 3 ladders.  What I should have been doing was this; 1,2,3 x 5.  Meaning 3 total rungs on 5 ladders.  Future workouts would look like this; 1,2,3,4 x5 and then 1,2,3,4,5 x 5.  In other words, my first heavy day which was today should have consisted of 5 total ladders of 3 rungs each and not the other way around.  I looked at past workouts in which I have used the ladder technique and I was doing them correctly so I can’t explain why I screwed it up so bad today.  

The good news is that I caught it during the first week and I can correct it for the remaining weeks of the Return of the Kettlebell cycle.  Essentially I have identified a problem with my workouts and have worked to correct it so that future workouts are an improvement on past workouts.  

You should always strive to be better tomorrow then you were today by identifying deficiencies in your training and working to eliminate them.  Your will never have the perfect workout because perfection is not possible but you can sure as hell come close if you approach every workout as practice.

Day 7 – 9-20-09 rest

Week 1 wrap up

Week 1 is in the books.  I’m pleased with how the week went but obviously there is major room for improvement.  As you read above in the day 6 wrap up, I have been performing my ladders incorrectly.  I’m not to pleased about that but I am happy that I caught it early in the cycle and can now correct it without losing any momentum. 

This was the first time that I have used 2 kettlebells as the main focus of my training.  I have performed lifts with 2 bells in the past but have never had a routine who’s main focus incorporates 2 bells.  I think I have adjusted well and feel that every workout, technique wise was an improvement over the last.  I’m still trying to get used to using 2 kettlebells of different sizes.

I completed all 5 workouts this week so I’m clearly on pace to meet my goal of completing 90% of the workouts.  I also think, despite not performing the ladders incorrectly that I’m looking pretty good to reach my other grind week goal of pressing 2 24kg bells for 1,2,3,4,5 x 5.  It ain’t gonna be easy but I’m feel’n pretty good about it.

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Tomorrow I begin the Return of the Kettlebell protocol.  I will begin the first two week block with a grind cycle.  My week will look like this.

Monday – Light: Press& Squat, Deadlift

Tuesday – Varity

Wednesday – Medium: Press & Squat, Deadlift

Thursday – Varity

Friday – Off

Saturday – Heavy: Press & Squat, Deadlift

Sunday – Off

GRIND BLOCK

Obviously I will be performing these lifts with two kettlebells, in my case, 24 kg bells.  I will be performing ladders, meaning, 1 rep and rest, 2 reps and rest, 3 reps and rest until I get 5 reps.  Repeat 5 times for a grand total of 75 reps.   My ultimate goal before the end of the 90 days is to perform 5 cycles of 5 reps with two 24kg bells.  Currently I have trouble completing this with two 20kg kettlebells in strict, military press fashion. 

It should be noted that I will NOT go to failure on any of my cycles and the reps must be strict.  These ladders will be difficult but I’m not doing a high intensity type of workout.  The goal is to perform heavy presses for high reps.  Employing ladders makes this possible.

My first workout will be 1,2,3 x 3 cycles.  The following grind week will be 1,2,3 x 4 and the next grind week will be 1,2,3 x 5.  When I get to 5 cycles, my next grind week will be for time.  My goal will be the same amount of work done in a shorter period of time.  Each workout should be shorter then the previous. 

Once I can no longer go any faster, I will start adding volume again.  1,2,3,4 x 5 is the goal here without worrying about time.  This time around is slightly different.  I will always be performing 5 cycles even if I don’t get 4 reps.  For instance, if on my 4th cycle I can’t get 4 reps, perform 3 for that cycle and the 5^th.  Again, after I successfully get 1,2,3,4 x 5, start racing the clock. 

Finishing 1,2,3,4,5 x 5 doesn’t mean you get to relax.  Get yourself a heavier set of kettlebells and repeat. 

On the last rep of each cycle, with out putting the kettlebell down, I will perform 5 front squats. 

After the double kettlebell press & squat is completed, I will rest for a few minutes and perform sumo squats with the two kettlebells I press.  2 sets of 20 reps are prescribed by Pavel.  I will not argue.

One thing to note.  On my heavy day, I will use two 24kg kettlebells.  On my light day however, I will use one bell that is 2 sizes smaller then the 24 in addition to the 24kg bell.  On the medium day, one of the bells will be one size lighter.  So, my presses will be with a 16kg and a 24 kg bell on light days and a 20 and 24 on the medium days. 

Also, I perform two less rungs on the ladder on light days, and one less on the medium days then I did on my last heavy day.  This will become clear I hope as I post my workouts. 

GOALS

My goals for the grind cycle are fairly simple.  Most people set too many goals which tends to divert their focus.  My focus is on the workouts and performing them as prescribed with good form.  A goal reached using bad form is not a success and bad form is the predecessor to injury.

Currently I am not able to perform 5 cycles of 15 reps wit 24 kg kettlbells.  Before the end of 90 days, my training log will look like this.  1,2,3,4,5 x 5 with two 24kg kettlebells.

To achieve this, I obviously will have to follow Pavel’s protocol to the T.  So my second goal will be to complete at least 90% of the 90 days using Pavel’s protocol.  By my calculations, the 90 days will end on December 13^th.   That’s 65 workouts over 13 weeks.  90% of the workouts completed would be 59.  Consistency is the goal here.

EXPLOSIVE BLOCK

During this block I well perform the long cycle clean and jerk with two 24kg kettlebells.  No other lifts are necessary.  The long cycle means that I will clean the bells before each jerk as apposed to just cleaning it before the first rep and performing the prescribed number of jerk reps.  

Why no other lifts?  Perform the long cycle clean and jerk with heavy bells for what will eventually be 150 reps and then ask that question. 

The ladders will look a little different.  Instead of 1 rep increments, I will jump 2 reps at a time all the way to 10 reps for 5 cycles.  

The days will look similar to the grind block with Monday, Wednesday and Saturday being my light, medium and heavy days.  Tuesday and Thursday are variety days and Friday and Sunday are off days.

VARITEY DAYS

The variety days are kept simple.  Stretching and mobility drills are prescribed.  Pavel suggests jogging but I HATE to run so I won’t be doing that.  The key is to perform light lifts and stretching that aid with active recovery and keeps the muscles loose.  I am not trying to set any records or even work up too much of a sweat.  Take it easy and don’t push it is the recommendations from Pavel.  Variety days are also a good time to get some grip work in.

CONCLUSION

Most of my kettlebell routines over the last 5 plus years have been performed with 1 bell.  Employing 2 kettlebells is new for me so not only will I be working out, but I will be learning and mastering a new set of skills. 

The focus of all your workouts should be on practicing your lifts.  Don’t  just throw the weights around and think that you are accomplishing anything.  Learn and practice to perform each lift correctly.  If that means that you have to drop the amount of weight that you have been using, then so be it.  Perfect practice makes perfect. 

As I have already said, my purpose here is not to teach you everything there is to know about the lifts and protocols outlined in “Return of the Kettlebell”.  In fact, some of what I will be doing is outlined in the book and DVD, ‘Enter the Kettlebell”. 

My goal for you is to inspire and teach though my experiences with these workouts.  You should take what I give you and use it as a foundation to learn more.  If you are like me, you view your training as a never ending education.  And just like the education for your mind, the education for your body is a lifetime endeavor.  Stop learning and you stop growing. 

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

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This is in response to a question asked by @Litarider on Twitter.  Her question was why it is so hard to increase from one kettlebell weight to the next.  In her case form 12 kg to 16 kg.  This exposes one of the very few limitations of a kettlebell.

If you are using a standard kettlebell, you are limited by the fact that the weight is not adjustable like a barbell or a machine.  When I set my goals at the beginning of a power lifting cycle, I might only want to increase my weight by 10 percent.  If you are deadlifting 500 pounds, an increase of 10 percent would be 50 lbs.  Sounds like a lot but it’s only a 10% increase and it’s not a 10% increase all at once.  If I’m doing a 12 week cycle, that’s 12 weeks to go 50 lbs which means I only increasing the weight by a small percentage each week and not all at once. 

Going for 12kg to 16kg is in excess of 25% which is HUGE.  This my friends is one of the limitations of the standard kettleblell.  I use the term standard kettlebell because there are refillable kettlebells out there that let you put sand or lead shot in the hollow bell.  This gives you the advantage of being about to increase your weight in small increments.  The best I’ve found on the market today are Punch Kettlebells which incidentally are made in America. 

If you don’t have a kettlebell that is refillable, don’t worry, there are training methods that will allow you to jump to a heavier bell.  I’ve made a video in which I explain some of these techniques that you can start to employ right away.  Check it out below.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – I have an article in which Tim Adereson, RKCII explains a primitive but effective method of adding a small amount of weight to your standard kettlebell.  Subscribers to my blog already received it so if you are interested, subscribe to my blog and send me an email and I’ll send you the article. 

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Today I am announcing the beginning of a new blog series in addition to my regular blog posts.  On 09-09-09, I will launch a new blog in which I will offer you complete unfettered access to my training log as I begin a 90 day cycle employing the workout protocols detailed in Pavel’s new book and DVD entitled, ”Return of the Kettlebell”.

During the next 90 days, I will outline in detail each and every one of my workouts so that you can follow along as I progress through this very difficult training protocol.  You will have access to all my successes and failures, my highs and lows and eventually my conquering of my goals which I will also outline in my posts.

My goal for you is to inspire you to achieve your strength and conditioning goals while I achieve mine.  It is one thing to talk a good game and it is entirely another to play a good game.  I want to lead by example and show you that an ordinary person can achieve extraordinary things.  To be successful, you must have goals and a detailed plan for reaching them.  You must have a proven roadmap to success that is referred to daily.

I must admit that I have a selfish reason as well for doing this.  It is one thing to set goals and keep them for yourself and entirely another to give the whole world access to your goals.  You can fake it when no one else is watching but when the spotlight is upon you and you open yourself up for everyone to see, well you can no longer fake it.  

Success isn’t always about achieving your dreams but about becoming the person you must become to achieve them.  For me, listing my goals in advance for everyone to see goes against who I am now but is entirely in line with who I want to become. 

So, look for my first blog post tomorrow in which I go into more detail about what it is I will be doing and what I hope to achieve when I’m done.  Should be exciting and a learning experience for all of us.   

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – If you are interested now in finding out what the heck “Return of the Kettlebell” is all about, click here and read for yourself

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Another walk down memory lane.  I found this box that I have not unpacked for about 5 moves.  I have a lot of those in the basement. I should probably look in them in case there is something of value in one.  Ah, who am I kidding, I’m sure there is just useless junk in all of them. 

Anyway, I found this box full of old Muscle and Fitness and Flex magazines and some other interesting stuff.  I remember back in the day reading my muscle mags from cover to cover at least twice the first week I got em’.  I would hide under the sheets with a flash light.  I had visions of being the next Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I read the magazines and took note of all the rountines that the pros were doing and then I hit the gym with a fury not seen in many teenagers my age.  And the results I got were nothing less then spectacular.  In fact, looking back on it, I realize that I was most likely in an overtrained state most of the time.  Not good for progress.

Did the routines not produce results?  Sure they did, for the professional bodybuilders and the gifted few whos body’s have a remarkable ability to recover from one workout to the next.  For the rest of use average Joes, the workouts in those mucscle magazines are ineffective as written at best.  I was spending two and a half hours in the gym!  No bull shit. 

Now, I’m not trying to be a cry baby about this because you live and you learn.  The good Lord did not bless me with the genes to become the next Mr. Olympia.  What burns me up is the dirty little secret out there that they don’t tell you about in those magazines.  It’s something that my bodybuilding heroes from the 70’s and 80’s didn’t want the general public to know.  The secret of course was that all the top pros were juicing it up by using steroids and a whole host of other drugs designed to manipulate the body into doing something it was never intended to do.  Can one get as big as Arnold naturally?  Probably, but not by the age of 20.  Natural bodybuilders and powerlifts generally don’t hit their primes until they are well into their 30’s.  Slim “The Hammer Man” Farmar known around the world for his freakish grip strength stated that he became dangerous when he hit 40.  As someone who is about to hit 41, I can tell you that I have gotten stronger each and every year without fail and I have no plans of reversing that trend any time soon. 

Some of the strongest men who ever lived, lived around the turn of the last century.  Eugen Sandow, Arthur Saxon, George Jowett and the list goes on.  NONE of these men used steroids because although discovered in the 1930’s, it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the FDA approved their use.  And even then they weren’t widely used by athletes for some time.  Even without the use of drugs, Arthur Saxon set the bent press record of 370 pounds.  A record that still stands today, almost 100 years later.  Mr. Saxon died in 1921.

My suspicions about the drug use in bodybuilding was verified after reading an article that Dorian Yates wrote in the mid 90’s.  In it he admitted to using steroids and said that every top pro was using them.  I never heard of anybody calling him a liar so I gotta believe what he said was true.  This article went on to talk about the cocktail of drugs that bodybuilders use, to include cocaine to get ready for a show.  Dorian commented that his job was to get as big as possible and as lean as he could regardless of the effects on his health.  In fact, he said that becoming healthy was never a factor when he decided to become a bodybuilder.  His goal was to get big, really big.  He certainly did that. 

If that is your phylosophy, so be it but when there are young impressionable kids out there who look up to these guys and hang on every word they utter in these muscle magazines, it has the potential to become a real problem.  I can say without a doubt that if I had known about steroids back in the 80’s when I had visions of greatness, I would not have hesitated to use them to get big.  I wanted it that bad.  I can imagine that there are kids out there today who feel the same way.  You simply cannot train the way the pro’s do, but without the drugs and see the same results they do. 

My words of advise to anybody who cares to listen is to stay away from that kind of thing.  The drugs are a ticket to hell on Earth and they are only an excuse for not working hard to achieve your fitness goals.  When you read about a routine that the top guys perform, note that there is probably a little something extra going on in the locker room that they don’t want you to know about. 

What ever your strength and conditioning goals are, they are achievable without artificial stimulants.  Sure, it is going to take a little longer and you will have to work a little harder,  but the results in the end will be that much better and they won’t be temporary.  It’s fun to look at those old mags and reminisce about the past, but you’ll never catch me performing one of those old routines ever again. 

Yours in Health,

Dennis    

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