Russian Kettlebells for Fat Loss and Fitness

Month three of Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 Program is well under way and I am still having a great time. I love knowing exactly what I have to do and not stressing about how heavy I should go or if I really went "all out". One point I think is worth noting about Wendler's program, and he makes it repeatedly in his book, is to start with a light weight and take your time cycling up to big weights. So in your first month use weights that are not very challenging, then add only 5 or maybe 10 pounds per lift per month max. I thought I started light but quickly realized how tough it is to max out on reps with 420lbs loaded for the deadlift. It sucks. Another point is to do lots of pulling drills. I like to do pull-ups between every set of the main lift. This way you are not sitting on your ass too much and your back and rear delts get a lot of much needed volume. Plus, pull-ups work the abs and arms nicely as well. Lastly. and this is a new one for me, Fat Bar High Pulls rock! I mean it. They give you many of the benefits of Olympic lifts without having to worry too much about form. Just keep upright and explode through the hips. High Pulls, and I mean explosive high pulls from the ground all the way to elbows level with your face, will give your metabolism a kick start as well as improve explosiveness and build some muscle in the calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes, back and rear delts. Bottom line, high pulls are underrated. Here are the training sessions I did for the week, following Wendler's 5/3/1, month 3, week 1: Squat Session Mobility work, bar hang, deep squat and hold, foam rollerA1 Squats135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5, 330 x 5,5,6A2 Pull-ups7 x 8-10 with various gripsYoke Walkworked up to 600lbsProwler Pushing3 long hard pushesKettlebell ConditioningArm Bar x 2 one minute holds per armlots of swings, cleans, high pulls and snatches Bench Press Sessions Mobility work, bar hang, deep squat and hold, foam roller A1 Narrow Grip Bench Press with Fat Bar95 x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 285 x 5,5,8A2 Pull-ups7 x 8-10 with various gripsB1 Strongman Log Clean and Press4 x 5B2 Rows4 x 10-12C1 E-Z Bar Curls4 x 5C2 Skull Crushers4 x 8 Kettlebell ConditioningArm Bar x 2 one minute holds per armlots of swings, cleans, high pulls and snatches Deadlift Session Mobility work, bar hang, deep squat and hold, foam roller A1 Deadlift135 x 5, 225 x 5, 315 x 5, 420 x 5,5,10A2 Pull-ups6 x 8-10 with various gripsAtlas Stoneslifted a bunch of big stones for about 30 minutesKeg Carriesdid a bunch of carries until I was tired (pretty scientific eh?) Military Press Session (I really have to put my ego aside on this lift and suck it up) Mobility work, bar hang, deep squat and hold, foam roller A1 Fat Bar Strict Military Press45 x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 150 x 5,5,6A2 Pull-ups6 x 8-10 with various gripsB1 1 Arm Dumbbell Military Pressworked up to a max triple with each armB2 Fat Bar High Pull (I am discovering something magical about this drill)5 x 5C1 Cable Curls3 x 15C2 Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions3 x 15 www.kettlebellplanet.com

Let's face it, your shoulder take a beating. From slouching at your computer, to slouching in your car, to spending more time working the front of your body than the back, you are setting yourself up for shoulder pain. I have been experiencing chronic shoulder pain for almost six months now. I have tried a few different things with moderate success such as ice, mobility drills, clubbell drills, and traction with a flex band. Luckily I re-discovered this gem of a drill. The kettlebell arm bar will make your shoulders feel like new again. I have yet to find any drill that comes close. That being said, expect your shoulders to hurt during the drill. But afterwards, you won't believe how great your shoulders feel. Here is a video to demonstrate the drill. www.kettlebellplanet.com

Today was a week 4, month 2 of Wendler's 5/3/1 program. If you haven't checked out Wendler's book yet, I highly recommend it. 5/3/1 is simple, fun and so far seem to be quite effective. Today's workout focused on the deadlift, which is lift I don't see nearly enough trainees working in the gym. If you want to be strong, have thick back, powerful glutes and really bring up your hamstring strength, then deadlifts are a must. All athletes could benefit from stronger hamstrings because it will make you faster and help prevent pulling a hamstring when sprinting. Also, not that I spend a lot of time checking out other men's asses, but frankly a lot more dudes could stand to gain a bit of muscle mass around their ass. A powerful ass is a sign of athleticism, plus chicks dig it. Here is the workout I did today, really simple but damn tiring: Foam RollingMobility WorkA1 Deadlift135 x 5, 225 x 5, 315 x 5, 405 x 5, 465 x 3, 500 x 1, 565 x 1A2 Pull-ups7 x 8, various gripsAtlas Stone Liftingplayed around with 285, 300, 315 stones for about 30 minutesKeep deadlifting and you just might put some muscle on. But only use straps if you are bodybuilder pulling 800lbs for reps. http://www.kettlebellplanet.com/

Hello everyone, all of my posting is now being done on kettlebell planet. Over 500 posts and counting so I hope to see you there! http://kettlebellplanet.com/ If you are looking for a personal trainer in Calgary, contact me at nathan@kettlebellplanet.com

I am in Bangalore, India on a work assignment. It is an amazing place I tell you, friend me, Nathan Donahue, on Facebook or flickr to see the pics. Be sure to mention the blog or I will think you are a creep and not friend you! Anyways, it is an amazing place but not the easiest city to find a proper gym. Especially one with barbells and dumbbells instead of just cardio machines and some mulit-gyms. Needless to say I let this challenge get in my way and failed to train my first few days here. In other words, I bitched out. Luckily I have friends with strong posterior chains who are always looking to motivate me! This video was sent to me by Paul Vaillancourt, professional strongman and owner of Ultimate Fitness. He is doing the massive trap bar deadlift at 20 seconds in. After watching this video I realized I was being a soft little girly man and letting this obstacle prevent me from reaching my goals. As the saying goes, "the weak see obstacles as an inconvenience, warriors see them as challenges!". So, since checking myself I have been hitting the "gym" in the hotel hard. My first workout was pretty simple and not overly challenging as the heat kicked my ass pretty quick. Here it is: mobility work, 30 mins in my hotel room10 pound dumbbell circuit in the "gym", these are the heaviest dumbbells there!Series of high pulls, clean and presses, presses, rows, lunges, squat thrusters, one leg deadlifts, jumping jacks, push-ups, and overhead twits to failure, 30 minutesJump rope to failurePretty basic and honestly not very well thought out. Oh well, the important thing here is I broke the cycle of missing workouts due to a lack of kettlebells or barbells and got back in the game. Tomorrow is another day and a chance for a better training session.India is famous for yoga, which doesn't really interest me, but it also has these traditional wrestling schools called Akara's where locals lift stones and wrestle in the sand. If I can find one of those places it would be awesome!

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