ebia66’s BodyBlog

Kettlebells have been used for centuries in Russia. Pavel Tsatsouline, a former Russian special forces trainer, brought kettlebell training to America in year 2000 and it’s now being embraced across the country by top fitness trainers, competitive athletes and ordinary folks, like myself,  who want results and are willing to work hard to get them.

The basic kettlebell exercise is the swing, a full-body workout you can learn and be doing in your first ten minutes. Master trainer and Brazilian Jujitsu World Champion Steve Maxwell has said that "the perfect kettlebell swing is superior to 99% of all the sophisticated strength and conditioning programs." I have been working with kettlebells now for the past 2 weeks and I am here to tell you that it’s a very effective way of burning calories, building strength and maintaining muscle mass.  If you haven’t tried it yet, I think you should…. IT WORKS!! 

I was in Slat Lake City, Utah over the weekend and I heard of a supplement company called Agel. The company boasts… It’s a plant-based, gelatinous fluid that allows basic nutrients to "float." When nutrients "float," they stay dissolved and "suspended" and are more portable, easier to ingest, more accurate in their dosage and more readily absorbed by your body.  The company has 9 diffrent products ranging from a protein formula to a energy formula… Was wondering if anyone has heard of this company or is using these products?  Please let me know….

Performed twice a week…

Begin each session of this workout with calisthenics and core moves. Then do the exercises specified for each superset moving back and forth without rest. Do each superset three times, resting 2 minutes between supersets.

This workout has really helped me in strenght and flexibility.

1A Weighted Pushup Superset
#1 45 12
#2 45 12
#3 45 12

1B Weighted Pullup Superset
#1 20 10
#2 20 10
#3 20 10

2A Dumbell Snatch Superset
#1 25 8 Left 8 Right
#2 25 8 Left 8 Right
#3 25 6 Left 8 Right

2B Cable Single-Arm Row Superset
#1 30 8 Left 8 Right
#2 30 8 Left 8 Right
#3 30 8 Left 8 Right

3A Dumbbell Squat Superset
#1 60 10
#2 60 10
#3 60 10

3B Swiss-Ball Hamstring Curl Superset
#1 12 Left 12 Right
#2 12 Left 12 Right
#3 12 Left 12 Right

4A Dumbbell Stepup Superset
#1 30 10 Left 10 Right
#2 30 10 Left 10 Right
#3 30 10 Left 10 Right

4B Dumbbell Calf Raise Superset
#1 50 10 Left 10 Right
#2 50 10 Left 10 Right
#3 50 10 Left 10 Right

5A Dumbbell Incline-Bench Superset
#1 55 each 12
#2 55 each 12
#3 55 each 12

5B Lat Pulldown Superset
#1 110 10
#2 110 10
#3 110 10

6A Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Press Superset
#1 30 10 Left 10 Right
#2 30 10 Left 10 Right
#3 30 10 Left 10 Right

6B Dumbbell Single-Arm Row Superset
#1 60 10 Left 10 Right
#2 60 10 Left 10 Right
#3 60 10 Left 10 Right

7A Single-Leg Squat (holding plate) Superset
#1 10 10 Left 10 Right
#2 10 10 Left 10 Right
#3 10 10 Left 10 Right

7B Single-Leg Swiss-Ball Leg Curl Superset
#1 12 Left 12 Right
#2 12 Left 12 Right
#3 12 Left 12 Right

7C Unstable Jump Rope Superset
#1 45 seconds
#2 45 seconds
#3 45 seconds

 Good Luck and Have Fun!!

Very excited today, ran my first road race in a few years and was able to surprise myself as well as a few competitors and win!!  It was the 5th annual "Support The Troups" 5K road race and I came in with no expectations other than to finish.  The cause is wonderful and the turn-out for such a crappy day was very unexpected.  I think the best reward I could have received was the expresions on the faces of the local high school Xcountry teams as I excepted the trophy!  As they say on those tv commercials… "Today my better was definetly better than their better!"  Good luck to everyone competing out there!!

I recently read a very informative article in "Men’s Health" which I wanted to pass along for informational purposes as well as comments.  The article was a basic road map to what they called "the new rules of strenght training."  It helped to point out the 5 bedrock strength training principles that I have incorporated into my own program, which I think has given some decent results.  Without going into full detail here is a overview of the list:

1. Strive for strength, not size

2. Embrace progressive overload

3. Balance your movements

4. Become unstable (with excerise movements, not your life)

5. Do it all explosively

Now I understand that you need different approaches for different kinds of results, but for a leaner, quicker & stronger body, esp. over 40, I have found that this approach has been very beneficial.  It may not be anything new or unheard to some, but for me and maybe others it a fresh change from the norm.