kettlebell fever

Jeff doing a great demonstration of the turkish get up, bottoms up style.

The kettlebell circus has arrived!

Ben working on his front lever

Jef and Dana challenging each other to a walking swing race

max pull-ups

max push-ups

Todd decides to try the shirt-off approach to fitness.  

Tuesday night was skill night so we pulled out the kettlebells and worked on the clean and press, one leg deadlift, walking kb swings, front levers/l-sits, ring rows/pole vaulters and the turkish get-up.  Everyone tried to get through the skills 3 times before the workout. 

Workout was:

3 rounds

max pull-ups 

max push-ups

rest 3 minutes between rounds

Great job to Ben on setting a new gym record for pull-ups!  

42 consecutive pull-ups in a row!  Impressive!

Swing your way to fitness!

Ben and Susan working on the turkish get-up

Tina demonstrating the gladiator

Kettlebells offer the ultimate in functional core training.  Nearly every drill recruits multiple muscle groups to work in unison.  The body is trained as a whole with a particluar emphasis focusing on the core and back muscles.  It's simplicity at it's finest.  Some of our favorite moves, the swing, the turkish get up, deck squats all use a single kettlebell.  Stay tuned for more kettlebell exercises coming your way!

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to capture any photos of group tonight.  As part of the warm up everyone worked on pullups push ups and ring holds.  Then we did 5 sets of 5 dumbbell thrusters.

Workout was:

5 rounds

row 250

10 jumping pull-ups

Rowing Helen

Ben was introduced to the turkish get up today. It is a very deceptive exercise. It seems simple the first 2 or 3 reps but by the time you finish 4 or 5 you are hoping for a break. For his workout Ben did a rowing Helen. It's one of the Crossfit benchmark workouts. It seems short and sweet but it is incredibly demanding, particularly on your grip.

3 rounds

row 500
21 kettlebell swings
12 pull-ups

Back from the Kettlebell Cert

Tina and Eva T.
Jeff demonstrating the Turkish Get-Up.

Just got back from the Crossfit Kettlebell certification this weekend. Jeff Martone from Tacticle Athlete led the course and he had some great tips and tricks that I can't wait to share with everyone. You haven't seen juggling until you've seen Jeff juggle kettlebells! I also want to thank Eva T. from Crossfit HQ for being so helpful and making me feel so welcome all weekend. I had a great time!

Kettlebell Fun

Kettlebells are a great strength and conditioning tool. You can do a wide variety of movements with them. They are highly portable and take up little room. Here is a link to someone who lost over a 100 pounds in a year using kettlebells.

http://giryastrength.com/pdf/Vitalics.pdf

Windmills

Windmills are one of our favorite exercises for warming up the shoulders. Holding a kettlebell or dumbell overhead with your feet pointed out to the side reach your other hand toward the floor. Keep your eyes on the kettlebell and keep that arm reaching over your head straight. Your goal should be to touch your palm to the ground. Try to do 5-10 reps on each side and enjoy the stretch!

Lunchtime workout

21-15-9 or 15-12-9 rep scheme depending on experience.

sumo deadlift high pull
shoulder press
push ups

Kettlebell fun

We warmed up with some ring pull ups and dips and then did a kettlebell based workout.

4 rounds

5 one arm snatch (each side)
5 one arm cleans
5 one arm squats
5 one arm presses

rest 2 minutes between rounds