Warrior Fitness » Kettlebells

Holiday Belly-Busting Met Con

Jon — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:37:38 +0000

If you’re like many people perhaps you’ve over indulged a little bit this holiday season. Too many great meals and even greater desserts maybe? Well here’s a quick metabolic conditioning workout to help you out. The great thing about metabolic conditioning workouts is that, unlike traditional aerobics, they stoke the fat burning furnace and keep it burning for hours after your workout is completed.

Today’s holiday belly-busting met con workout consists of the following:

5 KB Snatches each arm
10 KB Swings
10 KB Goblet Squats

If you don’t have access to a kettllebell, feel free to substitute a dumbbell.

Perform 5 rounds. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between rounds depending on your level of conditioning. If you want an even greater challenge, set the timer for 10 minutes and perform as many rounds as possible, nonstop.

Drop me a comment below and let me know how you did!

Warrior Workout in the Park

Jon — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:25:20 +0000

This past Saturday was a beautiful fall day here in Jersey. A perfect day for a Warrior’s Workout in the Park! This workout was directly inspired by Zach Even-Esh’s Ultimate Underground Strength System.

Warrior Workout

15 minute warm-up – mobility, movement, animal crawls, band work, breathing exercises followed by…
1) KB Clean & Press – 5×5
2A) Picnic Table Push-ups on fists – 4 x submax
2B) Thick Tree Branch Pull-ups - 4 x submax

3A) KB Goblet Squats 4×10 (forgot to take pics of these – sorry guys!)
3B) KB Swings 4×10

4) Abs / Grip work 3 sets each

The cool-down consisted of various yoga asana and breathing exercises as both normalizing work and compensatory movement.

Hope you enjoyed this! How did you workout this weekend? Let me know!

Everyone Needs a Coach!

Jon — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:40:48 +0000

The other day, I was working out with my good friend Eric Chasko at his studio, Redemption Kettlebell Gym in East Windsor, NJ. After our training session, we were discussing the mechanics of a basic kettlebell swing and Eric had me demo a few swings. As I began demonstrating the basic kettlebell swing that I had been taught almost 10 years ago, he noticed a hitch in my movement during the back swing. Instead of keeping my back flat, I was raising it slightly as the bell moved into back position. This was something I had never noticed previously. Initially, it would not cause a problem, but over time, and with some serious volume, it would begin to stress my low back and contribute to pain in that area if not addressed.

Eric picked up another kettlebell and showed me the difference between what I was doing on my back swing and how it should be done correctly. We then worked on keeping my back flat while bringing the bell back and then driving with the hips to swing the bell upwards. After a practicing for a couple repetitions, I got it. As Eric is fond of saying, “Kettlebell swings are not bad for your back. The way YOU are doing them is bad for your back!” Unless you ask questions and talk to a knowledgeable professional, you never know what you don’t know!

So, although I have done kettlebell swings for years, I still had something to learn from a coach. Never assume you already know how to do something, even something as basic as a kettlebell swing!

Kettlebell Swing #1 - Approach

Kettlebell Swing #2 - Back Swing

: Kettlebell Swing #3 – Hip Drive!

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