I'm very, very excited by this! The Complete Guide to Kettlebell Lifting is Steve Cotter's first book and I've already ordered it. I was looking for a master level text on kettlebells and this looks to be the one. I'm a big fan of Steve's (obviously) so I wanted something by him. I saw it had come out this morning so my copy is already on the way. I'll review it when it gets in.
This is my warmup that I do for kettlebelling. The basic movements are around the body passes, halos, wrist twists, up and down dogs to warm up the back, and windmill stretches. I also usually do some body weight squats but I didn't film those.
This is a marketing series that I'm doing. I'm trying to clearly communicate the benefits of kettlebell training. I would appreciate comments if you have any.
This is a news segment introducing REAL kettlebell lifting to the general public -- competition style. Interesting that the weight loss/fitness aspects of that style are being used to promote it here. The clip is good but full of cringe-worthy moments, "Oh, so it combines strength training AND cardio, "Oh look at the pink bell!," etc. So please remember this is pitched at the gen pop. The reporter is interesting because it's obvious she's never picked up anything other than a pink dumbbell in her entire life. I wish they'd pick someone with at least SOME workout experience to do these segments. Much more interesting that way.
Just throwing this out there but it seems to me that when training with the kettlebell, especially intensely, you'll find three layers: major muscle groups, minor muscle groups, and the purely mental stage.
When you start an intense set, you work the major muscle groups and exhaust those first. Then the minor muscle groups take over and your form improves. This is a nice area to be in. But that niceness doesn't last as you go beyond what good technique alone will get you. As you continue the set, you reach the stage where technique is no longer a refuge and the struggle becomes purely mental. Will you find the will to persevere?
This is another workout method we use with kettlebells. A Tabata protocol is taking an exercise and then doing it intensely for :20 and rest for :10. This is one cycle. You do 8 cycles back to back for a total of 4:00. It's a tough workout if you select the right exercise and weight. I'm huffing and puffing in this one.
My classes are starting to pick up a bit and balancing personal workouts with teaching is becoming more of an issue. EDT and working out fairly hard twice a day are out. It's just too much on my body (edit: actually EDT may be a part of everything I do now. Have to think about this). I now do the workout with my kettlebell classes most times. For example, today I led from the front and we did a killer 20:00 circuit workout:
