Are you swinging right or wrong?

Funny question I know...could mean several things I suppose. Here though, I'm talking about Kettlebell training. A while back I made a statement that I didn't think certain people had good enough kettlebell training skills to be teaching people how to do them.

Later on I come to find that same person has a DVD for kettlebell training. I assume she's gotten some instruction, I assume she doesn't fly from the hip with kettlebell exercises that aren't performed properly. I also assume her form and teaching cues have gotten better.

I assumed wrong, sorry Dad, sometimes I still don't remember what happens when you assume.

Rather than get in to all the things that are wrong about this person's kettlebell training, I'd rather address the proper way to perform some of these kettlebell exercises.

Watch the video below...



There is a lot more I can hit on going forward, but these are the basics.

-Kettlebell swings are not based off of a squat.
-The kettlebell should become an extension of your arms.
-The Kettlebell swing focuses on your posterior chain, the lower back, the glutes, the hamstrings.
-The Kettlebell swing does not focus on our anterior delts, this is not a front raise.
-You can and should practice Good Morning Stretches and Romanian Deadlifts to understand the idea of hip hinging if it's new to you.
-Hike the kettlebell behind your hips, as you stand make sure your hips and knees come to full extension, think athletic and explosive, the kettlebell should be weightless for a brief second and the top of your swing.
-Allow gravity to assist the kettlebell back down behind your hips.
-Always start and stop in the same safe 'short stop' position.

I believe in being an expert at what you do. Although I love barbell training, and I believe I do it well, I don't specialize in teaching it, so I won't try to sell my coaching skills with the barbell to anyone.

When you step into an industry such as fitness, where everyone has a different opinion on fat loss, strength training, cardio, and the like; I believe you should be sound with your movements and understand the mechanics of what you are doing before you decide to teach it to someone (or demonstrate it on national television, or create an information product based around that type of training, without really having the knowledge.)

If you've never kettlebell trained before, I suggest you give a try, you'll love it for many reasons, but I also suggest you train with someone who's been coaching it and training it themselves for several years. (I know that doesn't weed out all the bad seeds, but it hits most.) I suggest you ask around and get some opinions from people who train and coach regularly. And if there isn't someone close to you, I suggest finding someone who does online coaching.

If you're going to invest the time and the money into a fitness program, shouldn't you be sure that you're getting what you want, not just what you paid for?

Speaking of Integrity & Courage of Character

This was a phenomenal movie, I remember the first time I saw it...I was in awe of the performances, years later I watch and see it for an entirely different meaning.

Kettlebell Training with Zach Even-Esh

Before I get into this guest post from Zach, I've got to tell you that I have something really big to start announcing. I already have all the video segments filmed...so keep your eyes open for this really important multi-part message I'm about to send your way.

Back to the training...

A few weeks ago, as I've already mentioned, I got spend some time training with Zach Even-Esh after one of our mastermind meetings. We got a lot of info on video, and this is what Zach wanted to share with you.



Let me know if you have questions below, I'll some answers to you right away.

Also stay tuned for some Sick Strong Girls training at the Underground in the next few weeks!

Flu Shots and Danishes

This really is a true story, and for that I'm shocked. (I just couldn't use real names.)

I have a friend who works in health care, at a relatively high profile hospital. He emailed me the other day to tell me that he HAD to get a flu shot for work. I was surprised by his emphasis on HAD, so I called him up to verify. As it turns out his high profile employer was mandating that all employees with face-to-face interaction with patients HAD to get a flu shot within a certain period of time or their employment would be terminated.



Is that even legal? I couldn't believe it.

Then...

I get another email from the same friend. He's at an all day meeting with his employer. Within the email is a photo of danishes, bagels, and muffins being served for breakfast during the meeting. No fruit to be seen, no protein anywhere, just sugar and flour. Later I get the lunch update, mayo based salads served as sandwiches, chips, and cookies. Not even an apple or a simple vegetable tray.



Seriously?

I think message is twisted. Mandate flu shots but serve crap for meals. This employer, and I'm sure many more, have a lot of evaluating to do.

Let's at least try a little bit of this the next time you host an employee meeting (which like the flu shot is also mandatory!)

Kettlebell Training Safe vs Unsafe

The contraversey: Is kettlebell training safe?

The answer: Yes, unless you're doing it all wrong.

There was a video awhile ago, with Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser demonstrating kettlebell exercises with bad form, in my opinion really bad form. And now, she's got her very own product endorsing kettlebells and their effectiveness.

Whoa! I'm concerned.

I can't say I've watched the DVD, and I probably never will unless someone sends it to me for free. What I can say is I've watched that demo and if the DVD is anything like the demo well then there's a lot of work to do, and a lot of concern to be had.

You see, I could look at this in two ways. One is I'll have plenty of people to instruct and re-train since they've probably been taught poor form, so I could benefit financially. On the flip side I've got worry about the potential loss of sales based on this DVD and if people are hurting themselves by not doing the exercises properly. People talk much more about bad experiences than they do positive ones, and they talk about it a lot faster.

It could either way. But here's my big question...

Didn't NordicTrack (the company promoting the DVD) recognize the ridicule Jillian Michaels received from her poor display? And if they did, what are they thinking? And if they didn't, again what are they thinking. I guess her name is big enough and recognized enough that it's not going to matter. Well it should. Integrity should matter.

Does it? Apparently not.

Bodyweight and Kettlebell Training

Each day when I'm coaching clients in a group setting I'm faced with having to modify exercises. Sometimes I've got to make things easier for someone who has just started a program. Sometimes I've got to make something more difficult for someone who is an athlete or who has been training for awhile. There are tons of variations of almost any exercise.

Below I go over a simple three exercise lower body complex, using kettlebells and bodyweight. (You'll see a more advanced one in a few days.)



Again, depending on fitness levels this is either going to be someone's workout for the day, or this will be a portion of someone's workout.

Let me know what you think!

Your Fitness Story

We all have our stories, and they're all really different. At some point we've all had a big road block, where we've had to dig really deep to get to the next step.

I'd love to hear yours...

I'll share mine with you as well.

As a kid, we played outside. Never were we allowed to sit a watch TV for hours on end. We also had chores that needed to be done. From about 11 to 17 I played sports. My favorite sport was swimming, I would swim lap after lap after lap until I had to get out of the pool. I was awesome at the backstroke, then one meet didn't go so well, I counted the flags wrong I crashed head first into the wall, practically knocked myself out in the water, and well mentally couldn't get over it, and never swam quite so well again.

I also played soccer, but we didn't always have a girls team, a group of us got to play on the boys team for a year, but in terms of degrading us, they made a special period for us (that didn't really count toward the game) That didn't go over too well, and didn't last more than a season. We finally got a girls team my senior year, we weren't great but we were good enough for a first year team. That was a memorable experience, a charter member. After college I was a bartender for a bit, it was always strange mixing up a drink for my high school soccer coach.

Lastly, I was on the track and field team all through high school. I threw discus and ran 110 hurdles, that's a combination of two events for sure. I wasn't awesome but I was good enough.

When I got to college, swimming was always on my mind, but I never went after it, looking back I probably should have. Instead, I got a little lazy, and the most exercise I ever did was the 3 whole classes I had to take to fulfill my PE requirements. Reassuring I know, coming from someone who wants every woman to feel confident and empowered by their fitness capabilities.

After college, I battled with myself for about a year over some minor eating disorders, and my new addiction to running (perhaps this is why I dislike it so much now.) At my 5'10" frame I was a whopping 155, anorexic and almost frail. I encountered some other problems along the way, but slowly and thankfully shifted out of that mindset and into a much healthier lifestyle. There were a lot of ups and downs to overcome and conquer, but once I realized the importance I knew I had to stick with it, that and I wanted to.

Enter real strength training for the first time in my life. (Because all the strength training I did in high school was bogus at best, with no program to follow and no goals in mind, I wasn't educated at the time.)

I love this stuff, I would give up strength training for anything at this point in my life. When I finally started training the right way, I saw amazing transformations. I was strong, I was lean, I was realizing what it was really like to be fit as an adult. It wasn't about crazy fad diets and long cardio.

Combination full body movements, paired with other combination full body movements, for effective and quick workouts that not only make me stronger and leaner, but also allow me to skip traditional cardio workouts. Have I mentioned that I love this stuff! (You will too if you don't already, I promise.)

I didn't get in to every detail but I will as time moves along, you'll hear about all of my mistakes, what my workouts are like now, they crazy fad diets I've tried, the success of well balanced nutrition, the confidence that strength training brings to you, and so much more.

Tell me what your fitness story has been like.

What do you struggle with?

What has been the key to your current success?

Where do you want to improve?

Together, we'll get there and stay there.