body

Importance of the Overhead Lockout

June 4, 2014 By Tabitha Dearle Leave a Comment

So many kettlebell exercises go overhead.

Some move quickly like the Snatch (top left picture) and Jerk. Some move slowly like the Press (top right picture) and Bent Press. And some are simply just held overhead like the Turkish Get Up and Windmill but every single one of them should look identical in the lockout position.

When the kettlebell is overhead your body should have tension running through it from top to bottom, reaching the top of your movement is not a moment to relax. Keeping your lats activated, your belly and glutes tight, the arm sucked into the shoulder, wrist straight ensures safety and strength.

Breaking down the Overhead Lockout:

The Wrist: When the wrist is in the correct position the muscle in your forearm remains active. Maintaining a straight wrist with knuckles facing the sky can be a challenge for some, especially when using a lighter kettlebell that sits higher on the wrist and presses on bone. If the pressure on the wrist is too much when you are starting out grab some sweatbands and cover the wrist for protection (not for continual use to cushion a kettlebell banging onto your wrist, that is a different issue altogether).

Keeping the wrist straight is essential in reducing injury, the “Broken Wrist” position will eventually lead to exactly that…

I asked fellow RKC and Physiotherapist Craig Soley for a breakdown of the dangers of incorrect wrist position, the following is his response –

“One of the most common mistakes in KB pressing activities is wrist position. So we can be clear, wrist (neutral) extension is described such that if I drew a line from your knuckles along the back of your hand and down your wrist is would be a perfectly straight line. If the wrist is flexed (a less common mistake) the knuckles would be in front of the wrist and forearm. If the wrist is extended then the knuckles would be located behind the bones of the wrist and forearm. Holding the KB in wrist neutral, the load is carried through the joint and held by muscular effort – this is good. In wrist extension, the load is carried on the joint, less muscle effort and the weight is resting upon the bony structures – over time this is bad and it is bad practice.

Why? Think collapsed arches and flat feet, hyperextended knees and hyperlorditic lumbar spines as other examples of resting on your joints. If you continually rest on your joints they will eventually wear out. Also, if you are training, train! Use your muscles to do the work and take the load off your joints! Keeping your wrist neutral trains for function and longevity.”

The Elbow: The elbow, as with the wrist, should maintain a straight alignment. The extended arm should run parallel to your head with your bicep inline with your ear. If you are hypermobile through the joint you will need to be more mindful of your movements as they are more likely to sustain injury due to the unstable nature of the joint.

Shoulder/Ear Poisoning: Over and over throughout all of my kettlebell learning I’ve heard the phrase “Your ears are poison to your shoulders”, simply meaning that if you’re overhead and the shoulder is close your ear then you’ve lost all stability and strength from the shoulder girdle being in a shrugged up position. Keep the arm securely in the socket and activate your lats for upper torso strength.

Core/Glutes: If you are planning to conquer The Iron Maiden Challenge (or for the fellas The Beast Tamer Challenge) you know that a good heavy Press comes from strong glutes and having your core locked tight. It is the solid base that stops you from leaking power and maintains control. Finish your lift strong by keeping them all engaged – meaning no disengaging in the middle.

Get moving before going overhead: Always warm up before any workout with your aim to target the muscles that are going to be used. PFE warm-up, Halos with Kettlebell, rotating all joints through their full range of movement.

Can’t Maintain Lockout? Thoracic Spine Extension Mobility plays a big part in maintaining posture in the overhead lockout. If you are lacking in thoracic mobility work on it with some of the following stretches/exercises –

Foam Roller on the thoracic spine
Armbar or Crooked Armbar
Thoracic Bridging

Always seek out professional help if you are suffering pain in any overhead position.

***

Tabitha Dearle, RKCII based in Perth, Australia, and is Co-owner of Perth Kettlebell School of Strength. She spent the first decade of her working life managing fast food restaurants before making a life-changing decision to become a Personal Trainer. Since then she’s been helping many, from athletes to seniors to children, change their lifestyles to become fitter, healthier and more mobile mostly through using Kettlebells. You can follow her blog at http://tabidrkc.wordpress.com/

It’s All About the “C” Word

June 19, 2013 By Angelo Gala Leave a Comment

Have you ever looked at a professional athlete in total amazement as they gracefully move through the air in a gravity-defying move to score a game winning goal?

Scratched your head in total confusion wondering how that weightlifter in your box just dropped under a barbell to catch a snatch with 225 pounds when you are struggling to secure the bar overhead with just 135 pounds?

How about those bikini and figure models strutting around showing off their beautifully sculpted 6-pack of abs?

Its all too easy to sit back and cop out an excuse that these individuals are just gifted. To say that they are “freaks of nature,” or accuse them of having way more time available to train. The truth is that we all are capable of amazing ourselves with personal accomplishment. Maybe our window of opportunity to become a pro ball player has closed a little earlier than we would have hoped, but don’t throw in the towel just yet. You still have plenty of time to achieve great things.

What builds great athletes happens behind closed doors when no one is watching. Everyone struggles when they have goals that scare the sh*t out of them. The secret to success is persistence through the tough times and consistently working to move forward no matter the resistance that is faced.

It is too easy to watch any athlete on a National or International stage and overlook the work it took to get there. Of course I have to acknowledge that many athletes do possess a genetic predisposition to be great at what they do. Some endurance athletes are blessed with an astronomical lung capacity (think Lance Armstrong), perfectly shaped musculo-skeletal system for their given activity (Michael Phelp’s wing span and hand size) or even fiber typing within the muscle itself that can predispose someone to naturally be more explosive (Pyrros Dimas). Please don’t let this discourage you in your journey to crush personal records in training whether you compete or are simply a fitness enthusiast.

It’s funny how many things come in 3’s. A sneeze frequently is followed by a second and third subsequent blast out of the nose. Tibetan Buddhism prayer verse is typically repeated in three’s. Traffic lights in the United States have 3 signals. Traditional nutrition tells us to eat a protein and two sources of vegetables (that’s a combination of 3) and we all know that it takes at least three months of effort to make noticeable change to the body. So what does this tell us? We need to be patient and persistent to accumulate enough volume to make the desired change we seek.

Lets break this down specifically to fitness. Say you have a weight-loss goal. It takes three weeks to make a habit stick. So in the course of those initial three weeks you may focus on making small changes. Initially frequency and timing of food may be the top concern. Once you have adjusted to eating regularly you may begin to add in more fresh produce. Before you know it, those initial three weeks have ended and you are starting to get frustrated with a lack of results or even an increase in total body weight. Don’t worry because we still have plenty of room for improvement. Now that we know you are proactively battling the blood-sugar regulation game we can pull out all grains and starchy foods. Sorry man, that means no more bread, rice or pasta and white potatoes. All of a sudden, BOOM! Some of that extra padding begins to melt away.

When it comes to resistance training and even flexibility (shout out to my fellow Yogis out there!) we need to see the same persistence and consistency. Strength training should be performed on 3 or MORE days a week if you would like to make gains. Now if you are like me, over 30 and slowly losing peak hormone levels, then a greater priority on frequency should be observed otherwise you may find yourself treading water at best. In the yoga community we have a saying that goes something along he lines of “stretch once a week to feel better, stretch twice a week to maintain your current flexibility, stretch 3 times a week to make a change.”

Now general rules of physiology apply to flexibility just as much as they do to strength. In a given strength session, a minimum of three sets of a given exercise are needed to provide enough stimulus to improve strength or promote hypertrophy.

Accumulated volume towards the improvement of muscle length and specific flexibility should be noted as well. If you are working on improving your backbend in a bridge posture, just hitting your maximal global spinal extension for one uncomfortable hold or repetition isn’t going to cut it.

First you should prep your body by opening your hip flexors, thoracic spine and throw in a shoulder stretch or two. Now that your body is ready to bend, try setting up your bridge for a solid 5 slow breaths or thirty seconds, lower to a resting position for a few breaths and repeat the exact same posture for at least two more sets. It’s never enough to just go through the motions one time and expect great change. Don’t forget that to improve your bridge it should be performed with the same care on two other training days that same week!

In regards to all aspects of the body we need to understand that it takes consistent and repeated practice to make change. For some enthusiasts the change may come as fast as a few days or weeks and for others it may take months or even years. As long as we keep chipping away at our goals by taking small bites at a time, success is as sure to come, as the seasons are sure to change. I challenge you to stay present and be mindful during your journey as you very well may learn something new about yourself along the way.

***About Angelo Gala, RKC Team Leader: Angelo Gala has been a fitness professional in the Boston area for greater than 11 years. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NCSA, has studied the Pranavayu system of yoga under David Magone and he is a Dharma friend at the Sakya Center of Buddhist Studies in Cambridge, MA where he completed a 1 year intensive study of Mangalam Yantra Yoga Under the guidance of Lama Migmar Tseten.

He considers himself an all-around fitness nerd and endurance junkie who refuses to fall under the category of a one-trick pony. Gala continually works to better himself and inspire others by leading a lifestyle conducive to physical, emotional, and spiritual development. He believes that no one should focus too much time and energy on a single dimension of fitness. The body craves all different types of movement that is not limited to just running, jumping, swimming, biking or lifting things up and putting them down again and again. He teaches clients to train with intention progressively, intelligently and with as many different modalities as the heart desires. Do this and the body and mind will be forever grateful.

How To Get to 8% Body Fat…And Stay There

May 8, 2013 By Pat Flynn 26 Comments

How To Get to 8% Body Fat…And Stay There

To command your respect and hold your attention, I will use big words. And if the desired effect is achieved, you will likely finish this piece thinking you have arrived somewhere in luxury.

For many years now I have beseeched some of the more celebrated wizards of the natural sciences for samplings of their incalculable wisdom, and they have bestowed upon me, most graciously, the secrets behind their biological sorcery—that is, the key to deciphering the riddles of leanness and muscularity. The most enviable of all human forms, indeed is it not?

Now I have experimented in various directions with this sorcery upon the author of this piece, that is, conducting countless experiments upon myself, done mostly in my underpants and long after my keeper has left the grounds.

To name a few: I have danced with the devils of ketosis, boogied with the preachers of starvation (short-term, of course), and partied with the high-priests of Paleo.

But before I venture any further, I offer a few figures and disclosures:

1. I last clocked in at 6.4% body fat via a 7-point caliper test. As this device is rarely precise down to the exact percentile, I recognize I may be higher up into the eights, or down lower maybe even. Whatever.

2. I take no fat burners or drugs of any kind (less you count chicken), only the following supplements: creatine monohydrate (5 grams daily), organic whey protein concentrate, green tea, fish oil, zma, and an organic greens shake.

3. Having six pack abs does not make you a fitness expert, nor does it make you a good coach. It does not gain you entry into heaven, nor does it protect you from bullets, taxes, or hepatitis C. It does not mean you’re healthy—doesn’t even mean you’re fit, necessarily. All you can assume from six pack abs is that the bearer has a low-enough body fat and an amply muscled midsection. That’s it.

I should tell you, however, that when you seek out six pack abs you learn lessons that can be learned no other way. Mine were:

1. If I go below 100 grams of carbs per day, I am likely to scalp someone, burn my house down, or commit some other wholly unreasonable act of unpredictable violence. Once, while in ketosis, I chased a man up a tree, and kept him there for three months.

2. The only PROVEN effective method to lose weight is to spend more calories than you save. So I figure if Americans could just figure out a way to swap their eating habits for their money habits, then everyone would be much richer and far less fat. Someday, maybe.

So, if you’ll permit me, I’d like to show you how I do it—how to get to 8% bodyfat, and stay there—less of course you be a lady, then 8% is far too low, so let us instead shoot for the mid to high teens—if that be the case.

How to Eat for Six Pack Abs

I guess you could call me paleo-esque. I do not eat grains*, really. Wait, never mind, yes I do. White rice is a grain, and I eat that. I also eat white potatoes. Some would call this heresy*, but that’s OK.

* SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Grain eating may be hazardous to your health—dangerous to you and others around you, and will likely result in a slow, agonizing death—and there is loose evidence to suggest that that is not the worst, but that when you wake up on the other side, Satan himself will take you by the hand and personally escort you to the farthest back corner of hell—a place too gracious even for perjurers, adulterers, and mobsters—to have your legs boiled in molten sulfur for one billion calendar years.

You see, I really have every natural disadvantage when it comes to being lean—both congenital and acquired. My family is mostly overweight, and I am Irish—which means I like to drink whiskey, and my friends tell me I’m very good at it. But I have learned to restrict my drinking to only the days that come after yesterday. Occasionally I slip up, but one does what one can. [Editor’s Note: There was no point to this paragraph, and it probably should have been deleted.]

On non-training days, I typically keep my carbs at or around 100 grams, the lowest I can go before violence. My carbs come mostly from things that are green and leafy, berries, and the occasional sweet potato. On training days I will bump my carbs up by 50-100grams, sometimes higher. I will have my largest and carb heaviest meal post workout, and this is when I will have white rice or white potatoes. I think the white starchy carbs make for a lovely post workout addition.

To accumulate a calorie deficit, I fast. For this, I (one) fast for 24 hours 1x a week and (two) fast every day until about one or two o’clock. Since I train in the mornings, my first meal of the day is typically my post-workout meal, and it is large and exciting and I would never think to share it anyone—not even Mother, a critter to which I am emotionally susceptible.

If I feel like I’m going too far into the negative, which happens on occasion, I add breakfast back in, or take out the full fasting day.

How to Train for Six Pack Abs

In my last article I talked largely upon the benefits of metabolic conditioning—specifically kettlebell complex training—for augmenting work capacity. But I forget now if I mentioned the other benefit of high intensity complex training, that is, how it melts fat like raw meat on a hot grill.

Aside from sprinting, I do not run. I do not enjoy it. And because I do not enjoy it, I do not like doing it, because I do not like doing things that I do not enjoy, if you can believe it.

What I do enjoy is low-rep strength work approximately four days a week, high intensity metabolic conditioning two to three days a week, and low-intensity cardiovascular activities as often as possible. This is the philosophy behind my Birth of a Hero program, and it is a potent fat burner.

Allow me to expand upon this.

I train strength, on the main, four days a week. My current split is Monday, Tues, Thurs, Fri.

I work three-month cycles, but I do not wave the load, least not in the traditional sense. Instead, I begin each cycle with a “heavy load” (something that challenges me for 1-5 reps). I keep that load constant for three months. By the end of which, hopefully, it has become a “moderate to light load”, because I have grown stronger. Therefore, I have, in effective, “waved the load,” by not waving it at all. Voilá!

Currently, I am training mostly bodyweight and gymnastic style movements, such as the muscle up and the pistol squat.

I follow a rep scheme of 1,2,3,1,2,3 for every lift I do—a classic gymnastics style rep/set structure. For three months, there is no variation, not even when it starts to feel “easy”. When three months have passed, I bump the weight back up to a “heavy load”— or, in the case of bodyweight training, move onto a more difficult progression—and repeat the cycle.

[I’m not going to just give away the full program, but if you’d like it online coaching, and are willing to pay for it, then please email me at PatFlynn@ChroniclesOfStrength.com with the subject line of “I’m Not a Cheap Ass.” It’s expensive, but I’ve heard it’s worth it.]

Two days a week I add in metabolic conditioning via kettlebell complex training (typically on Mondays and Fridays). If I’m feeling spunky, I’ll make it three (or perform a metric crap ton of kettlebell swings intermittently throughout the week). This comes after my strength training, never before. I keep my complex work diverse—sometimes double bell, sometimes single bell, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. Inefficiency is your friend here and offers the refreshment of variety.

If you’d like some ideas, I have a free eBook on 101 Kettlebell Complexes that you can download HERE. It’s a gift, don’t worry about it.

Finally, I keep on the move as much as I can. Super-low-intensity stuff, lots of walking and hiking, especially on the weekends. Fasted hiking is a sneaky way to cut off that last bit of stubborn fat. I oftentimes bring along my trusty St. Bernard, Lola, for guidance and good humor.

Lola

Concluding Thoughts

There are a great many articles out there on how to get lean from people who have tried but did not succeed, even more from those who have never bothered to try at all but just wanted to talk about it anyways. I just wanted to be a little different, that’s all.
– Pat
PS – If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments or come say hi on Facebook.

***

About Pat Flynn, RKC: Pat Flynn is a certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge instructor, fitness philosopher, and 7^th degree blackbelt in hanging out. Pat is the founder of ChroniclesOfStrength.com where he talks mostly on how to chop fat and multiply muscle through kettlebell complex training.

My Journey to the 1 Arm, 1 Leg Push Up

April 17, 2013 By Beth Andrews 3 Comments

I’ve always been interested in mastering body weight exercises. There is a fascination with athletes that are able to push and pull their body around with total body strength as opposed to those that can only lift a heavy object. When I began kettlebell training, and more specifically, when I got certified in RKC, I began drifting towards the body weight challenges.

At my RKC2 in April 2012, I bought the Convict Conditioning book and signed up for the Naked Warrior cert held in October. Females were required to do a 1 arm push up to pass. I didn’t know much about the technique of the 1 arm push up and with only a few months to prepare, I dug into the CC book for guidance. My program design was centered on training Pull ups, HLR, OAPU, Pistols, Handstands, and Bridge work.

Just prior to the cert, the results were: HLR- 2 sets 27reps, Pistols- 37right/37left, Uneven Pull Ups- 5sets 5reps, Bridges improved, and even though I was hesitant in kicking up a Handstand, I had help getting up and then would hold the position. And of course, sets of 1 arm assisted push-ups. I had actually gotten an ugly 1APU . The strength was there but the mechanics of tension, engaging hollow, breathing, etc., was missing.

The Naked Warrior cert went into details with creating tension, engaging hollow, breathing, shoulder positioning, etc. and it all came together for me. I was able to achieve the 1 arm push up.

Here’s a demonstration video, followed by some cues:

Cues to Use: Root hand in floor. Pack the shoulder. Wrap arm around low back and squeeze fist creating tension. Engage the hollow position. Quick breath in and hold. Chest to floor. Let just enough air out to push up.

The following week, I designed a thirty day program for the 1 Arm 1 Leg Push Up using ladders. I paired variations of pull-ups with OAOLPU assisted ladders. I only laddered up to three on each side but varied the rounds each day I trained. I also varied the intensity by using a basket ball on easier days and using a towel/Frisbee as a harder variation. I didn’t over complicate things with different variations I picked 2 and stuck with it.

MONDAY- 3 rounds

BW pull ups- 10

OAOLPU ladders- 1-1,2-2,3-3 (towel assisted)

WEDNESDAY- 4 rounds

L-sit Baseball grip pull ups- 8

OAOLPU ladders- 1-1,2-2,3-3

FRIDAY/SATURDAY- 3 rounds

Weighted pull ups- 5

OAOLPU ladders- 1-1,2-2,3-3 (Towel assisted)

I kept it simple. I never went to failure. I always could have done a few more reps. I never forced reps. If I needed a day of rest I took it. I waited thirty days before testing to see the progress.

On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, the workout consisted of bridges, handstands, hollow drills, pistols, cossack pistols, weighted push ups, HLR, and OAOL plank holds. I also snatched twice a week.

After 30 days, I achieved the OAOLPU.

Here’s a video and cues:

Cues to Use: Root hand in floor. Pack the shoulder. Lift opposite leg and push contact foot into floor. Wrap arm around low back and squeeze fist creating tension. Engage the hollow position. Quick breath in and hold. Chest to floor. Let just enough air out to push up.

Next up is the PCC, as Al Kavadlo says on the Progressive Calisthenics blog… ”We’re Working Out.”

***

More about Beth Andrews: Beth Andrews, Senior RKC, is a gym owner and instructor at Maximum Body Training in Cartersville, Georgia. She can also be reached through her website: http://www.wix.com/drruss21/mbt.

How Do You Arrive at Your Ideal Bodyweight? Here’s an Important First Step.

January 25, 2013 By Thomas Phillips 12 Comments

“This article explores ideal body-weight for adult men and women of all “body-types” beyond the misleading scope of the BMI. It is the culmination of over 4 years of work dealing with nearly 1000 clients helping them reach unimaginable physique transformations. Based on their feedback (as far as how they look, feel and blood work analysis) this system has proven to be accurate time and time again. In the near future, I hope to share the UTC with many of YOU! Enjoy!” – Thomas

The UTC (Ultimate Transformation Challenge) Body Color System Rationale

The UTC body color system is not an arbitrary system. I have based my evaluation on several hundred men and women of all shapes and sizes who have successfully gone through this program over the past 4 years. Included in this evaluation are colleagues I’ve interviewed within the various sports I participate. I pay attention to those individuals who have had the most success based on how they look, feel and perform at their perceived ideal bodyweight.

Americans are most familiar with the BMI system that contests both men and women should meet the same height and weight standard.

See below:

Most men find the BMI standard too strict and will find excuses such as “The BMI doesn’t account for my muscle mass.” Although there is truth to this statement, in my experience, this conclusion is irrelevant and more will be said on this topic below. On the other hand, most women easily fall within the standards of the BMI but are totally dissatisfied with their physiques. Therefore, I set out to create a realistic optimal weight standard for men as well as a separate one for women.

At first glance, men will complain that the “green body” in the UTC body color system is too strict; however, there was a time when “normal weight” in America was far lower than either the BMI or the “green body” standard in the UTC body color system. Take a look at this scale from the 1950’s in a local diner near my home:

At one point, this scale from the 1950’s represented predictable height and weight for American men and women. Notice, there is a chart for men and a separate one for women. Compare these numbers to the high side of “normal” within the BMI chart. Clearly, particular things have occurred in our society that has pushed the standard of a “normal weight” to a ridiculous standard of “normalcy” that is no longer acceptable. Today the average 5’ 10” man walks around at over 190 pounds in America. Therefore, we must ask the question, “What has happened?”

The UTC explores the answers to this and many other questions in depth.
Most men want that “six pack” look. Take a look at the before and after height/weight of these UTC participants and the weight loss necessary in order to make their abs “pop.” In my experience, many men will tell me they need to lose “about 10 pounds” to have abs. The truth; however, is often closer to 30 pounds of weight loss for their abs to look like the individuals below.

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About Thomas Phillips:

Being a good student, teacher and athlete has always been a priority. This is why I choose to remain the student and the teacher in all aspects of life. Other than being a teacher of math and philosophy for the past 13 years, I am also a writer, gym owner, as well as a proud father and husband. I continue to challenge myself physically by competing in various sports and strength events including The Tactical Strength Challenge, Powerlifting, Bodybuilding and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. From a young age I have taken a keen interest in health, fitness and personal growth. The goal was, and continues to be, mind/body performance optimization.

It has taken years of small successes and big mistakes to get where I am today and I’m certainly not done learning. As owner of Fit for Life PT, in Marlboro NJ, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the world.

Over time, I’ve earned their respect and admiration by not only talking the talk, but by walking the walk. “UTC” is the culmination of what I have learned in health, strength, behavior and philosophy.

Visit www.theultimatetransformationchallenge.com for more info.