Kettlebells and Circuit Training...a 1-2 punch!

Got up this morning at 5am for Friday's Session on Mark de Grasse's MBodystrength 12 Week Kettlebell Workout. I'm normally shooting to get to the gym between the hours of 5am-6am. That's my time and always make it a point that if I got to get up early either for some appointment, work - I'm in the gym bright and early. That's always been my thing.

This video inspired me yesterday:



So Day 5 and I'm really feeling pretty good about this 12 week program. The great thing about is you always want to improve each week. That's the challenge that I'm really excited about.

Today I managed to use 40 lb DB's in replace for kettlebells this morning. Again, these are metabolic circuits with the use of kettlebells and you dont need to go extremely heavy on these exercises but my intention is to at least get up to 50 lbs throughout each session and stick to the 40-45 lb range for the next few weeks with hopes to improve on my strength with the weights used in a progressive fashion.

Dumbells vs Kettlebells - both work just the same but a bit different because of the shape of the handles. Hope to get up to 45's next week and only get better and stronger at it as the week's progress and increasing my circuit sets in the required amount of time (these next few weeks are 30 minute workouts in this program).

Definitely getting a personal log started here. It's been a fun workout that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

Tabata Burpees with Chin Up Combo and some

Got up this morning for my scheduled Tabatas for the day. Did Tabata Burpees with chin up combinations for a full 4 minutes of work. I was burning out by the 5th cycle...my reps were really going lower and lower but my heart was definitely pounding harder and harder.

Followed that up with some jump roping for a cooldown at the work gym.

After that it was some shoulder rotation work with light dumbells...

All that in less than 12 minutes.

MBodyStrength Program

After a great July of Turbulence Training it's time to break loose a little here and get back to something similar I did not too long ago with Ross Enamait's Rosstraining Programs (another great program by the way. Ross' Infinite Intensity is one of the best training Books out there right now).

Anyway, after reading up on an interesting site about kettlebell training/BW training and after giving it some serious thought over the last month or so and actually giving it a test run these past few days....I realized that whoah these are some kick butt metabolic circuits!!!

Plus many of my friends who I've met at Turbulence Training are also getting into the Kettlebell craze which only motivates me even more to give this new program an honest shot. Not intending to do this for 12 full weeks, maybe not even for 6-8 weeks but we shall see!

I've been tinkering with a training program designed by Marcus Martinez and Mark de Grasse at www.Mbodystrength.com. It's a free link and he has some excellent free training programs you can choose from. His approaches involve different fat loss, strength and conditioning approaches that remind me alot of rosstraining and crossfit stuff.

MBody Strength has created a series of free workout videos for all levels of fitness. From the following:
Kettlebell training
Sandbag training
Bodyweight training
Grip training
Hybrid Training

I "virtually" met Marcus online at the rosstraining forums and also on youtube. I've thoroughly enjoyed his workouts these past 3 days and really enjoy his workout videos. Seems like a really great guy and my bullshit radar is pretty good and like the rest of my favorite fitness gurus who's workouts I've tried in the past - there's no fluff in his philosphies to training either - he just does it. Just look at his videos - you'll know what I mean.

Plus it seems like he's big fan of Nike Free's like I am! Hey, I got that pair too! :P




And he's from Southern California...

Now some of his kettlebell exercises are a bit advanced and I will sub a few if I know I simply can't do them. But I did only 3 days of his program and I'm getting my ass beat down. Literally. I hope to do his program for the next couple of weeks. There may be some substitutions here and there - but I will definitely make it my own if a have to with safety always in mind and simply have fun with it.

If you like Kettlebells...believe me - you'll certainly enjoy his stuff. Again there's beginner stuff in there as well. Check out his link and some of his free stuff he has going on at his newsletter.

Again here's his link to his site: CLICK HERE.


Andy

What do you do with $500? Worked on my Home Gym!

As promised a few months ago in my blog..I was going to post pictures of my home gym. Well, here it is folks. Very organized with my toys. I try to prevent too much clutter but after a workout - it does look like a hurricane just went through it.

Recently winning 2nd place at Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Contest I went ahead and invested in some home gym equipment like some rubber mats for body weight work, kettlebells, a bench and a 300 lb Olympic Weight Set on top of what I already have as you can see in the picture.




Other than that I also have tons of 10 lb plates for my adjustable dumbells...they aren't standard olympic type plates but work just the same for my Walmart stuff. Hey...weight is weight no matter how I look at it.




It's not much...but you really dont need much for a home gym. Happy viewing!

Saturday Ramblings

It's amazing what you can do with your body with just bits and pieces of manipulation you can do with it - be it diet, exercise, activity and rest. It's fun. Weight loss, lean muscle gain here and there...it's a great journey that I find a unique interest in especially with how the body works and the science behind it.

Anyway, this past month...I have learned some "new" revelations. I say "new" because it always seems like they are but they're actually old rules and principles that I always try to remind myself about constantly:

1) Control what you can control (that can be from diet (#1) to the amount of loads you use on a lift to even times you train in the gym or at home).
2) Get your rest. Don't overtrain.
4) I should be mindful once again to avoid busy gyms.
5) Balance your life.
6) Your body is a chain. Each part of that body is essential to keep staying fit and healthy. Take care of it.
7) Stay committed and motivated as best you can. Just keep at it. Don't let things pull away from you, even when the chips are down.

Tomorrow or Monday - I do my last Circuit Challenge of this program. Hope to break my previous times on it. But it has been a great month of workouts for sure.

Lovin' the July Reconstruction Workout

Today should end my 3rd week into Craig Ballantyne's July 2009 Reconstruction Workout and I'm definitely feeling the benefits of a very good program. If your into sports or just banged up - this is definitely a workout to put on your must do list. I strongly recommend it. It has a good mix of bodyweight work, strength work with weights, core work and circuits to really keep that body worked up throughout the week and the Reconstruction sessions are excellent to do as an off day routine.

I think it's a great routine if you like to play sports such as volleyball. It has a blend of everything from shoulder strengthening work, unilateral work...you name it - I think this workout has it.

I've already dropped down a decent amount of BF from this workout alone.

And again the reconstruction workouts in this specific program is really beneficial for anybody who's been training or playing sports for some time.

Craig Ballantyne talks more indepth of this particular workout in his blog. Click HERE.

On retooling...and resetting focus

How bad do you want it? How far are you willing to push it to your limits?






Just checking out the local paper the other day and I read up on a pretty cool article on Pro Bowl Cornerback Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers. For a guy who had a terrific rookie season and made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year - he slipped a little on his 2nd year with only 2 INT's and the 3rd most thrown to starting corner last year. Well there's always that 2nd year drop off I've noticed in the NFL because no one knows you yet in your rookie year. Well he was off the mark in his 2nd year...lost his focus. But now he's ready to reclaim his fame once again out on the field...

It was very disappointing for us Charger Fans to see him drop his play like that...because he was almost pencilled in as the next Deion Sanders at one point as they both were from FSU.

Now with a contract year coming and the drafting of Cason in the first round in 08 - a new a spark is re-lit and Cro is back with a vengeance.

But he decided to skip off season conditioning workouts at Chargers park and does an Ochocinco - he resorts to unconventional methods such as mma style approaches, boxing...sledgehammer and running across a dirt hill with a 100 lb tire around his back. All this may sound weird for football conditioning as it is not the norm...but I honestly think it works.


He even admits to never have trained like this before and he's already reaping the benefits of non-traditional type training approaches.

You dont have to be in a gym to get a great workout. You can take it outside, find new training approaches that dont requiure a gym membership and just go for it and give it your all.

You are only limited to what you allow your body to do.

Why I Like Nike Frees

If you like the comforts of training barefeet...the Nike Free brand of shoes are the best way to go. I use them everyday...I train in them, I work with them, I do errands with them, I take family trips on them.. I even play volleyball with them. Just got a pair the other day online. It has the Nike + option too, so that can be of some benefit with some running with my Apple I touch (but I hate distance running...but it would be interesting to give it a test run one day).

Here's a very good video as to why I like them so much for training.




Adios! Til next time...