Feb 5 2010

Turbulence Training Kettlebell Kickstart 4-Week Program

Everyone’s heard of the brand new Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution program that as recently launched, right? It’s from Chris Lopez, the first ever Turbulence Training certified instructor.

Well, he’s developed a short, 4-week course, rightly named the “Kettlebell Kickstart” 4-week program. This is an introduction to Chris Lopez’ intense style of Kettlebell Training.

If you’re really serious about venturing into the world of Kettlebell training, then you want to grab this program. Click here to learn more.


Jan 12 2010

Kettlebell Workout: Kettlebell Meltdown 300 Workout

This has to be one of the most popular workouts on the net. It’s the Kettlebell Meltdown 300 workout. I’m guessing it was inspired the “300″ movie workout. Bottom line is that it’s 300 repetitions of some of the toughest Kettlebell Exercises combined with some hardcore bodyweight movements.
Here’s how you do the workout:

  • 25 V-Ups
  • 50 Snatches
  • 25 Pushups
  • 50 Swings
  • 50 Burpees
  • 50 Clean & Press
  • 50 Mountain Climbers
Time to beat is 11:16 with 24kg Kettlebell. Can you beat the time?

For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 12 2010

Kettlebells Turbulence Workout: 8-Exercise Kettlebell Circuit You can Do in your Apartment

In the following video, Craig shows you a simple, quick 8-exercise circuit you can do in your apartment. Sometimes when I’m really busy, or it’s too cold out to go to my garage gym, I just train in my bedroom.
Here’s the workout:

  • Kettlebell Squat, 15 reps
  • Pushups, 20 reps
  • Kettlebell Swings, 15 reps
  • “Y’s”, 10 reps
  • Kettlebell Shoulder Press, 8 reps
  • Stability Ball Leg Curl, 25 reps
  • 1-Arm Kettlebell Swings, 12 reps
  • Stability Ball Rollouts, 8 reps
You can substitute the Kettlebell with a dumbbell. You can also use a medicine ball or basketball instead of a stability ball. The feeling is different. In fact, a small medicine ball is more difficult to use then a stability ball.

For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 12 2010

Kettlebells Turbulence Workout: 10 Exercise Kettlebell Circuit

This is one of the most grueling Kettlebell workouts I’ve come across. It’s known as the 10×20 circuit, meaning that you choose 10 exercises and perform 20 repetitions each. Do it with a Kettlebell and it becomes 10-20x more intense!
Here’s the workout:

  • Kettlebell Squat, 20 reps
  • Extended Pushups, 20 reps
  • Kettlebell Swings, 20 reps
  • Walking Lunges, 20 reps
  • High Pull, 10 reps each side
  • Mountain Climbers, 20 reps
  • 1 – Arm Swing, 10 reps each side
  • Close Grip Pushups, 20 reps
  • 1- Arm Row, 10 reps each side
  • Stability Ball Leg Curls, 20 reps
Rest, and perform the circuit again (if you got guts).

For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 12 2010

Kettlebells Turbulence Workout: Kettlebell Swings and Bodyweight Circuit

Over the past year or so, leading up to his recent launch of the Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution program, Craig has been producing some great Kettlebell workouts. The following are some of his best Kettlebell workouts he’s posted on YouTube:

For this workout, you only need a Kettlebell and your bodyweight. The circuit pairs Kettlebells Swings and four bodyweight exercises. Do not rest betwen each exercise:
  • Kettlebell Swings, 20 repetitions
  • Prisoner Squats, 20 repetitions
  • Kettlebell Swing, 20 repetitions
  • Pushups, 20 repetitions
  • Kettlebell Swings, 20 repetitions
  • Lunges, 20 Repetitions
  • Kettlebell Swings, 20 repetitions
  • Mountain Climbers, 20 repetitions
Rest one minute, and repeat the circuit 2-3 more times. You can also perform this workout using intervals of 20-30 seconds for each exercise. This works great if you’re really short on time.

For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 11 2010

Intense Kettlebell Training for Martial Arts

Speed and power are absolutely crucial for Martial Arts. I wish I had discovered Kettlebell training when I was doing Martial Arts. I would have been much more faster than I was.

I would have also been a lot leaner. My training back then was very contradictory. Martial arts requires explosive strength. What I was doing was typical bodybuilding workouts and distance running.

It helped my pacing, but I gassed out during sparring sessions. Once I started incorporating high intensity sprints and bodyweight training, I was able to last longer during sparring and conditioning drills.

But just imagine the possibilities if I would have trained with Kettlebells. Wow, my strength and conditioning would have gone through the roof.

To Strength Train, or Not to Strength Train

There are to arguments to strength training for martial arts. One side says that strength training will make you slow and bulky, which is true. And other side says that strength training will make you fast and explosive, which is also true.

How can two contradictory statements be true? Its because there are multiple definitions for strength training. These statements are true and false based one the definition that you use.

For example, ask an Olympic Lifter if strength training makes his slow. He’ll just look at you funny because Olympic lifting is all about power and speed. Lift the heaviest load possible, as fast as possible.

On the flip side, as a bodybuilder if strength training makes him slow. He’ll look at you funny as well because, he doesn’t really care.

One thing I’ve learned about fitness: if you want to improve a particular aspect of your training, learn from the people that do it best. When it comes to power and speed, look at the Olympic lifters.

Kettlebell Training and Martial Arts

So where does Kettlebell training fall into all this? Well, the Kettlebell swing, clean, and snatch are actually hybrids of the Olympic moves Barbell Clean and Barbell Snatch.

The barbell clean and snatch are tough movements to learn. However, do them with a Kettlebell, the learning curve decreases dramatically. You should be able to learn these basic movements within a few sessions.

As for the barbell clean and snatch, it takes weeks to learn the proper form, and then months to perfect the form.

Other forms of developing explosive speed are plyometrics movements such as squat jumps and plyometric (clap) pushups. However, these do not mimic the kind of “ground up” strength necessary for martial arts.

Martial arts is all about the hip thrust. Learn to generate power with your hips and you’ll have to most powerful punches and kicks in the world. Guess what! Kettlebell movements are also hip thrust.

In addition, exercises such as the Renegade Row (pushups + row) do more to train the lats than basic pullups or machine exercises. The lats are where the strength for your punches come from.

Destroying the Myth of Strength Training

The worst thing you can do to try to make your punches faster and stronger is to build up your chest and arms. In fact, a huge chest will come in the way of powerful punches.

This is where the old adage that strength training will make you slow and bulky came from: people confusing speed and power with strength and size. For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 11 2010

How to Structure a Kettlebells Workout for Fat Loss

Everyone wants to be lean and ripped. Even guys who want to be big want to be lean. Even guys who say, “I don’t care about being fat,” actually do care about being fat, and they want to loose their gut.

Structuring a Kettlebells workout for Fat Loss can either be the most painful thing you’ve ever done, or the easiest. I prefer to keep think rather simple, so that my workouts come out painful and intense.

Steady State Cardio – Practical No More

For years, coaches and trainers have been telling people to perform distance cardio in order to burn fat. The more cardio you do, the more fat you burn. Well, at first everyone was getting results.

However, as our society became more and more competitive in every aspect of life, and the average individuals free time diminished to that of being able to eat dinner, doing tons of cardio each week was no longer a practical approach.

Luckily, the past decade and half (or more), trainers have developed a new method of fat loss: interval training. World class trainers such as CraigBallantyne and Chris Lopez point to interval training as being the best way to burn fat without spending hours at a time on a treadmill.

Here’s how it works: you choose a form of exercise and perform it at a high intensity level for a short period of time, say 30 seconds. Then you rest as long as you need to recover and repeat.

Beginners can start off with 30 seconds work, 2 minutes rest, and perform that cycle for 15-20 minutes. At first, this new Interval Training method was a big hit. And most people either performed sprints or cycle sprints.

Interval Training with Kettlebells

However, lately, due to the popularity of bodyweight, dumbbell, and Kettlebell training, people have been using strength exercises to perform Interval Training. This has erupted into a whole different debate when it comes to steady state cardio vs. interval cardio.

Because now, people are starting literally combine their strength and cardio sessions into one. They’re cutting both their time andbodyfat in half. On top of that, the strength training stimulus is helping people pack on muscle mass.

Even though there are many different ways to structure a fat burning plan using Kettlebells, you’re better off starting off with interval training. Simply choose an exercise that you can perform for high repetitions, say Kettlebell Swings, and set a work and rest scheme.

Start off with 30 seconds work and 2 minutes rest, and gradually decrease your rest period until you’re able to perform 30 seconds work with 30 seconds rest. This is going to be the easiest way to get started on your fat loss plan.

One of the best ways to help you with your intervals is to use the GymBoss Interval Timer. It costs just $19.95, and you can program it to help you keep track of any sort of intervals you may use. Click here to grab yours today.

Advanced Fat Loss

Once you’ve been able to do a 30/30 interval scheme, start to experiment with other training methods. You can do superset, trisets, or circuit training. These three training methods are all about performing 2,3, 4, or more exercises back to back with limited rest between each set.

Supersets is another great way to lose fat and pack on muscle mass. For more intense Kettlebell workouts, exercises and training ideas, check out Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution. Click here for more information.


Jan 11 2010

TT Kettlebell Revolution

TT Kettlebell Revolution is a Kettlebell program developed by Chris Lopez. On his blog, he shared three reasons why he has switched completely over to Kettlebell training:
  1. Kettlebell workouts saved him a lot of time. Chris has 5 children and two businesses to run. His gym workouts took over an hour to complete. However, his Kettlebell workouts took no more than 30 minutes tops.
  2. Switching to Kettlebells has given him better results then when he was hitting the gym on a daily basis. He’s basically taken what he’s learned from Turbulence Training creator Craig Ballantyne, and applied it to Kettlebells.
  3. After Craig Ballantyne approached him and asked Chris to share his Kettlebell workouts with the rest of the world, he’s gotten hooked to helping people. Hence, he continually experiments with this Kettlebell workouts so that he can deliver the best training ideas to his clients and regular people like you and I.
With that said, we could all use more time on our hands. This is one of the reasons why we turn to Kettlebell training. However, what we really want to know is, does Chris Lopez’s system actually work?
Do it provide the intense workouts that it promises?
The only way to answer that question is to look at some sample workouts:
Complete the following circuit 3-5 times. Rest 60-90 seconds between each circuit, and record the time it takes you to complete the entire workout:
  • Two-Hand KB Snatch x10
  • Overhead Lunges x10
  • Pushups x10
  • Mountain Climbers x20
  • 1-Arm Swings x20
The idea here is to complete the workout faster the following week. Gradually reduce the amount you rest each week, until you can do 5 circuits without rest.
For more intense workouts, check out Chris’ Kettlebell Revolution program. Click here for more information.

Jan 11 2010

TT Kettlebells

The Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution program is a Fat Loss system developed by Chris Lopez using the famous Turbulence Training system of exercise.
The TT Kettlebells workouts are 10x better than interval cardio for fat loss for a number of reasons. First of all, for many people Interval Cardio is not the most practical solution for training.
If you don’t have treadmill or exercise bike, then you need to find other forms of interval cardio. Bodyweight training might work, but most beginners are unable to even perform a pushup, so that’s out of the question.
Even sprinting requires a track or some wide space. For example, I’ve sprinted in front of my house before. But when sprinting on the sidewalk, you have to watch out for people turning into the block.
Same is true if you sprint on the road. I have a wide, quite road where very few cars come. In the middle, there’s a big painted island where cars arent’s supposed to drive.
I once saw some some bodybuilder jogging in the middle of the road, so I thought it was a good idea to sprint. At first, I was successful at it. However, I realized how dangerous it would be if a car was trying to cross the street.
Sprinting isn’t like jogging where you can slow down, stop and wait for the car to pass.
I’ve previously used jump roping or shadowboxing for my interval cardio, but both of these methods require some skill.
Kettlebell training may be the simplest solution. The unique shape and handle of the Kettlebell provides a better workout that dumbbells. Some of the basic movements are also very easy to learn.
Hence, you can litterally get both your strength and cardio workouts within one workout. So instead of spending 20-30 minutes for strength training, then 25-45 minutes for cardio, you can get both workouts at the same time, and get a nice workout in under 45 minutes.
This will save you tons of time, and will also help you break down lots of barriers you may have as a beginner. And even if you’re not a beginner, Kettlebell training is simple: just pick it up and clean, swing, or snatch it.

For some fat burning and muscle building Kettlebell workouts, check out the Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution program. Click here for more information.


Jan 11 2010

TT Kettlebell

Chris Lopez, creator of the TT Kettlebell Revolution Fat Loss System, is your perfect example of a busy dad, who’s just got too many things going on with his life.
For example, recently on his blog, Chris stated that while taking care of his five children and nursing his wife, who has the flu, he’s only gotten 6 hours of sleep in the past 2 days.
Despite his situation, Chris is still able to keep himself in shape by following specific nutrition guidelines, and Kettlebell workouts, which he shares through his program.
He even shares the guidelines he uses for himself to develop these intense workouts.  He prefers Kettlebell and Bodyweight fusion workouts (as do I).
In each workout, he sure to include:
  • An Upper Body Push exercise
  • An Upper Body Pull exercise
  • A Bilateral Lower Body Exercise
  • A Unilateral Lower Body Exercise
  • A Metabolic Finishing Component
Following these basic guidelines, Chris can develop a workout that lasts anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. Of course, how long he workouts is based on how much time he has.
Here is a sample of one of his workouts:
  • 1-Arm KB Thrusters, x8
  • Renegade Rows, x10
  • 1-Leg Split Deadlifts, x8
  • Chinups, x6
  • Pushups, x30
  • 1 Arm Kb Swings, x20
This workout is a full, quick circuit. Perfect for when you’re super busy. Chris uses these workouts when he’s really busy (which, as you can imagine, is most of the time).
His Kettlebell Revolution program is actually much simpler than the workout presented above. There are workouts for complete beginners, and also advanced trainees.
They are based off of the popular Turbulence Training method of exercise, which combines “non-competing supersets” into a full workout program. A non-competing superset is when you perform two exercises back to back with little to no rest in between each exercise.

Click here for more information.

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