*OFFICIAL* 00T Kettlebell Thread -- Drink the Kool-Aide!

[meleader2]

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this can't possibly work for everyone, what's ur body type to start and ur metabolism? how much do u eat everyday?

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well of course the same program isn't right for everyone. i wasn't implying it was. first of all, it will depend what your goals are. i was just posting my own program to maybe inspire some discussion from others that are using them.

i eat what i want and haven't changed my eating habits at all, other than going on the wagon a little over a week ago. my diet is not what mnost consider healthy, a lot of fat and protein. few vegetables. i do try to limit sugar though. i rarely eat breakfast. i eat pretty normal lunch and dinner portions. i'm neither a glutton nor do i starve myself. i don't measure calories or anything so i really couldn't give you any detail on that. my metabolism is pretty slow and if i eat more than those two meals, i tend to start gaining weight.

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lol u sound like me. except for the gaining weight part. i'll have to give these bad boys a shot.

[guids]

These things are awesome. BTW, functional strenght (Im with you on this), and six pack abs are not mutually exclusive, as you have found out. Its just a diet change, w/ a good routine like kettle balls etc that make it possible. You would probably get a kick out of the Strongman workouts, there are a bunch on the net. These things are a great change up, and pretty fun.

[Gunny Highway]

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These things are awesome. BTW, functional strenght (Im with you on this), and six pack abs are not mutually exclusive, as you have found out. Its just a diet change, w/ a good routine like kettle balls etc that make it possible. You would probably get a kick out of the Strongman workouts, there are a bunch on the net. These things are a great change up, and pretty fun.

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Yeah. I've worked with sandbags before. Lotta fun.

[shant]

When I get back to LA in April I have 2 of these and the book coming from Amazon on AZK and Blarg's recco. I will post how it goes.

[Gunny Highway]

Bump

[Blarg]

My routine for a long time has been fairly randomized doing deadlifts anywhere from twice to five times a week, mixed with just two kettlebell exercises, and grip work. The two kettlebell exercises I do could actually be done with dumbbells, but they're harder with kettlebells because the kettlebells are off balance. This, luckily, also makes them way more fun than dumbbells, which bore me to death. I always feel like I'm practicing a skill with kettlebells, rather than grinding out yet another boring work-out. I usually feel bad about putting the things down and want to continue to "play" with them; with dumbbells or barbells, I can't WAIT to finish.

Anyway, the two exercises I do with the kettlebells are simple military presses and bent-over rows, single armed. I do these in a "grease the groove" fashion, meaning I do them several times over the course of an evening, generally in a single set of five, and with what for me is a heavy weight. This is an exercise protocol that concentrates on strength and doesn't build a lot of mass, but it can build some if you eat like a maniac. As a natural ectomorph, I can put on some mass if I really eat like a crazed glutton, but it requires me being so bloated for so many hours of the day that frankly I'm happier skinny. Especially since I can still be strong, as so much of strength is neural training.

Practicing frequently during an evening, and many times per week(I usually GTG at least five days a week with the KB exercises), I get in a lot of volume, which keeps my system wired to be able to lift heavy weights. Doing only one or at the most two sets of no more than five repetitions means I virtually never experience soreness or next-day tiredness.

This is a great way for even really weak and out of shape people to gain strength quite rapidly. At this point, I am military pressing a 70 lb. KB with a 25 lb. jumpstretch band, and made rapid progress to get there. Others with different goals will train differently, and should. For instance, people going for mass are better served by doing other protocols than GTG. More power to them in going for whatever goals they set for themselves.

I have also done windmills and turkish get-ups and swings with the kettlebells, and very occasionally work some of them into my routine. The same with one-legged kneebends, often popularly called "pistols" these days. I work them into my lower body routine sometimes as a change of pace from deadlifts.

Most of the way down the page, you'll find my review at the dragondoor site of their product The Naked Warrior, and it talks a lot about my progress using kettlebells to help come back from a pretty bad state of health and fitness. Here's the link.


Blarg's review of The Naked Warrior, and kettlebell/GTG protocol

Note that the dragondoor site has great forums, and that though they sell kettlebells, the people there do a wide variety of stuff and many don't do kettlebells at all, and are quite welcome. If you want really well rounded advice, it's a good place to go that isn't at all just all about steering you toward kettlebells.

And there are cheaper kettlebells than these guys sell, and adjustable ones too. So, they're a great tool, and worth thinking about. The smaller ones cost under a hundred bucks, and will give you a chance to practice the exercises at a weight that won't have you swinging the bells through a window or stumbling about because of how off balance the kettlebells are. Very worth considering as part of a fitness routine. And one very big reason for that, too, is that they're fun. The weirdness of them, the skill involved in handling them, provides a constant challenge that is about more than just grinding weight; it's something kind of cool to master, even regardless of what weight kettlebell you're using. It's nice to have a work-out that doesn't feel quite so much like work and far away from fun.

[Rduke55]

I've been a serious lifter for 15 years. Mostly powerlifting-type stuff. I've also done a bunch of other sports (football, track, boxing, kickboxing, etc.) and if someone asked me to recommend one thing to them for general fitness I'd say kettlebell - and it's not close (ugh, I can't believe I used that phrase)
I got one based on Gunny and Blarg's recommendation and I frigin' love it. Man, I wish I would have started working out with these a long time ago. The thing I love about them is that they're great for people at any level - rank beginner or crusty veteran.

For me I ordered the 24kg but for some reason they sent the 28.
On lifting or off days I usually keep it by the door and try to grab a set when I let the dog out (one of the best things about this thing is how you can get a great workout by casually doing sets throughout the day - see Blarg's "Greasing the groove").
2x a week on nonlifting days I do a short kettlebell workout:
3x20 swings.
3x10 clean and press.
2x20 overhead squats (10 each arm)
2x10 bent row.
2x10 Windmills (5 each side)
1 miscellaneous exercise (I'm trying to add some new ones so this changes - I haven't done the 1 armed snatch yet b/c I'm a scared little bitch but I'm working up to it)

This workout kicks my ass. And I've been working out for a long time.

I can see Gunny's point about abs. I always seem to neglect my abs but I notice them coming in too since I started the kettlebell. My powerlifts have gone up too (kettlebell is great for the posterior chain).

Get one. Now. Even (especially) if you are out of shape. Skinny or fat, it doesn't matter. Cardio and strength training all in one.

[321Mike]

This looks pretty good. My only free time to work out is after I get out of work at 10 or 11 at night. Unfortunately, there aren't any gyms convenient to where I live that stay open past 11. So I need something I can do at home that will keep my attention.

I think this will work for me, but there are some drawbacks and you do need to be careful with these things especially if you haven't been working out regularly up to that point.

warning about kettlebells

[gorie]

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How's it going gorie?

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i haven't really been able to get into them too much actually, since i've been having some pretty frustrating problems with my wrists/hands for the past few months (no, not caused by the KBs). i have to be careful not to do anything that could make things worse.

i ended up buying an elliptical so i've been using that, i will get back into the KB's when i can though. i do like them and wish i could use them. but like a lot of things in my life right now it's put on hold.

[Rduke55]

Great pont about the kettlebells being fun. I do feel like i'm playing rather than working out.