Free Hybrid KB Strength Workout

I have a hybrid kettlebell strength workout for you today.

The important thing to keep in mind, to get the very most out of this one, is to use the heaviest weight you can handle with perfect form. NOT so heavy that you get sloppy. But, you gotta challenge yourself.

Otherwise, it won’t be nearly as tough.

Here we go – let’s get right to it:

 

Hybrid KB Strength Workout

First, do:

Turkish get ups – 5 each side, switching sides each rep

Do one or two TGU’s on each side with no added weight first – ‘naked’, as they say – and increase the weight progressively each set, until you’re really challenging yourself on reps 4 and 5.

Then, on to:

(Pair 1)

Double KB squat to press – 6 to 8
Band pull apart – 12 to 15

Repeat for a total of three sets each.

Go for it on the kb squat to press. Use as much weight as you can handle with perfect form. Try increasing the weight on the second and/or third set.

For the band pulls, hold a resistance band in front of you, with your arms straight and the band at about eye level. Pull the band apart, keeping your arms straight.

(Pair 2)

Kettlebell crush curl – 10 to 12
Feet elevated close grip push up – 8 to 10

Repeat for a total of three sets each.

Grab a heavy kb and ‘crush’ the ball part of the weight, while you do bicep curls with it. Superset this with a foot elevated close grip push up.

Finish with:

High Intensity Interval Cardio (optional)

30 second sprint
30 second recovery
Repeat 10 times

Run or bike are the preferred modalities for the high intensity cardio. The ‘sprint’ portion should be HARD – like 9 out of 10 intensity. The ‘recovery’ portion should be EASY – like 3 out of 10 intensity.

Whew! Give that one a try, and let me know how it goes.

Also – if you’re looking to finally MASTER your KB training technique – so you can do workouts like these with perfect form, and get the full benefits that kettlebell training can offer – make sure to register for my upcoming kettlebell workshop. You’ll even get a free copy of my Hybrid Kettlebell Strength and Conditioning program when you sign up!

Just a few spots left at early-bird pricing, click the link below for more info:

=> February 1st Kettlebell Workshop @ FVT

 

Have a great day, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, CPT, RKC

PS – If you are:

  • Looking to learn the basics of safe and effective kettlebell training
  • Are already training with KB’s, but having problems mastering good technique
  • Tired of your lower back/forearms/shoulders/etc. hurting after a KB training session
  • Simply love kettlebells, want to discover new training tips and workouts, and spend an awesome day around like-minded kettlebell enthusiasts

You NEED to be at my kettlebell workshop. Details and sign up here:

=> FVT KB Workshop Saturday February 1st

How to Stay Fit While Traveling – 3 Tips

 

Today I wanted to share with you a few tips on how to stay fit while traveling.

I just got back from a trip to Miami, and it was pretty brutal actually – drove to SF on Thursday morning … took a 6 hour flight to Miami … got in at 10pm and was up early the next day east coast time for a day-long meeting … out for dinner and stayed out late on Friday night … up early again for a repeat of meetings and dinner on Saturday … and then up super early and was back in SF by 11am Sunday.

A goal for this trip was to eat healthy and keep the workouts going no matter WHAT, take some notes for you, and share with you when I got back. Here are three things that really helped me stay on track. Hope these help:

 

How to Stay Fit While Traveling (3 tips)

1 – Plan Ahead

I packed a bunch of almonds, some protein bars, and beef jerky on this trip. It turned out to be a life saver to have some healthy snacks – as there were no meals served on the 6 hour flight, and I would have probably broken down and had some crackers or something.

Plan ahead and pack some healthy snack foods to take with you on your next trip!

2 – You can ALWAYS make good eating choices

I got into the airport in SF on Thursday morning and was starving. So I went to grab some lunch before my flight took off, and considered a turkey sandwich … but saw how much bread and other crap was on the sandwich and opted for a chicken salad instead. I know I saved myself a ton of worthless calories – and I felt much better during the flight, too.

I tried to follow this same theme throughout the weekend … and realized that almost ANYWHERE you are these days, you can make good choices, or as least better choices … which is what it’s all about.

3 – Get your workouts in no matter what

It just about killed me to get up a 6 am east coast time on Friday morning – it was still 3 am on the west coast! – but I made it happen because that’s what I needed to do to get a workout in. And I actually felt much better once I started training. I did the same thing on Saturday morning even thought I was out until midnight or so.

So here, make time, do not make excuses, and get your workout in no matter what. Also plan ahead and have a body weight workout handy just in case you don’t have access to a gym.

There you go – three tips to help you stay fit while travelling. These tips may seem simple, but actually DOING them can make all the difference. No excuses – now you can stay fit while travelling!

Thanks, train hard, and talk soon –

Forest

 

PS – If you’re looking to dial in your meal planning and take your fitness progress to the next level, we’ve re-opened registration for the FVT Nutrition Coaching group in 2014. For more info click HERE.

January 2014 Challenge Workout Results

… and the results are in!!

Great work to everyone on last week’s FVT Band Challenge. Lots of new bands earned – you are getting stronger and fitter as a group every day.

Here’s the band challenge in again, explained in detail – just in case you missed it:

=> January 2014 FVT Challenge Workout

First, folks who maintained their GREY band statuses:

– SG – keep training those pull ups, you’re almost there!
– DT – black is YOURS next time around
– RA – way to go, staying fit and getting better every time
– BP – 1/3 rep away from black! you’ll smoke it in April
– RB – getting better every time
– JM – black band close within reach!
– MD – nice work
– SS – just a couple pull ups away from black

Props to GR, our one and only NEW grey band earner! Black is yours next time around.

And finally our three new BLACK band earners:

– RM – way to tough it out!
– JM – woo! finally crushed those burpees 😉
– SF – first pull up ever, yay!

Good times. And way to work it on the band challenge to everyone who participated – lots of other folks very close to qualifying for that grey band.

Be back next month with another FVT Challenge Workout. Thanks for reading, train hard, and talk soon –

– The FVT Team

 

Meet Jim!

Jim came to me looking to prepare for the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification.

He had been training with kettlebells on his own for some time – and was doing well. But he needed to really dial things in with his technique, and get MENTALLY prepared, for the 25+ hours of kettlebell training he was going to do in the three day period that is the RKC weekend.

I got the email below from Jim shortly after he finished the cert – and was so happy 🙂 I asked him if I could share it with you, and was even happier when he said of course!

Read what Jim had to say:

 

“Everything went well this weekend and passed the cert – the snatch test seemed “relatively” easy (4:45). Your tips made all the difference.

Like you thought, they picked up on all my faults, mostly with my press, get-up and 1-arm swing. Great experience. They (specific RKC instructors named here) were very helpful with my back and helped me preserve myself in movements that might have otherwise been a problem.

I’m pretty sure less than 50% of the people passed overall. The guys who were in great shape but still failed the snatch test could have all benefitted from the exact same tips you gave me.”

 

It’s just awesome to get emails like this one from happy training clients. This is why I do what I do. Thanks again for sharing Jim.

 

FVT Kettlebell Workshop February 1st

Not long ago, I had quite a different view on KB training. I thought I could just grab a kettlebell and start swinging it around after reading a few articles and watching a couple of YouTube videos.

Boy, was I wrong 🙂

Let’s face it, kettlebells are an awesome training tool … but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you at BEST won’t get the benefits from training with them that you should … and at worst, you’ll badly injure yourself.

I knew I needed some quality instruction to learn how to use kettlebells properly. I started with books and DVD’s from Pavel Tsatsouline (the man responsible for bringing the current kettlebell craze to America and the master of modern HardStyle kettlebell training). I spent thousands on personal training sessions from a local kettlebell instructor. I’ve even travelled across the country and paid thousands more (and untold blood, sweat, and tears) for what is now multiple RKC certifications.

And NOW … welll, I just love kettlebells. I’ve learned how to use them properly and am currently enjoying all the training benefits that they provide. And I want to help as many people as possible learn how to use them safely and correctly to reach their ultimate fitness goals.

SO, I’ve decided to put on a “kettlebell basics” workshop at the FVT studio on Saturday, February 1st, 2014. Click the link below to learn all about it – and to reserve your spot at a special discounted “early bird” rate:

=> February 1st KB Workshop at FVT

 

Thanks, train hard, and talk soon –

Forest Vance, MS, RKC
ForestVanceTraining.com

January 2014 Challenge Workout

New year, new set of FVT Challenge Workouts!

We are going to make our Band Challenge one of our regular, re-curring challenge workouts this year. And it’s going to be our official Challenge Workout for January of 2014.

It’s already underway and we have several new grey and black band earners. Stay tuned for the full report at the end of the week!

 

Here’s a full rundown of the FVT Boot Camp Band Challenge:

The FVT Boot Camp Band Challenge involves various feats and demonstrations of overall physical fitness. Upon completion of each band challenge level, the participant will recieve a special FVT Boot Camp wrist band.

The band challenge qualification requirements for each level are as follows:

Grey Band Qualification Requirements

  • :45 seconds non-stop kettlebell swings with PERFECT HardStyle form (16k for women, 24k for men)
  • 1:00 plank hold with PERFECT form
  • :15 pull up static hold (any grip, chin above bar) for women, one dead hang pull up (any grip, chin above bar) for men
  • Complete the FVT Tababta Burpee Challenge – You will do eight consecutive 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest intervals. You must complete at least four burpees in each interval period.

Black Band Qualification Requirements

  • :90 seconds non-stop kettlebell swings with PERFECT HardStyle form (16k for women, 24k for men)
  • 2:00 plank hold with PERFECT form
  • One dead hang pull up(any grip, chin above bar) for women, five dead hang pull ups (any grip, chin above bar) for men
  • Complete the FVT Tababta Burpee Challenge – You will do eight consecutive 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest intervals. You must complete at least seven burpees in each interval period.

Good luck to you on the FVT Boot Camp Band Challenge!

– The FVT Team

 

PS – Know a friend, family member or co-worker who could benefit from training at FVT? Forward this message their way – and have them contact us HERE for more info and to schedule a free Test-A-Trainer session …. OR, if they’re not quite ready to visit us just yet, you can send them to THIS page where they can get taste of our workouts with a 15 minute follow-along video and meal plan from FVT.

How to Make 2014 Your Best Year EVER

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THANK YOU for making 2013 great … and wishing you a fantastic 2014!

I’m thankful every day I go to ‘work’ (if you can call it that) … I feel so fortunate that I can help thousands of people around the world improve their lives, do what I love and actually get paid for it … and it’s all because of YOU … so again, many, many thanks.

New Year’s resolutions may be a bit cliche – but now is an great time to reflect on the past year and plan for the one ahead.

I’m personally huge on goal setting in every aspect of my life. And it’s so important, no matter what your goals are – whether that’s losing weight, managing your time more effectively, doing something you’ve always wanted to do like start a business or travel to a foreign country … because it works!!

If you’re questioning the true effectiveness of writing down your goals, here’s some research statistics I dug up on goal setting from ideamarketers.com:

There are numerous studies that prove the value of journaling to write down and keep track of your thoughts and goals. A research study sponsored by the Ford Foundation discovered that:

– 23 percent of the population has no idea what they want from life, and as a result, they do not have much.

– 67 percent of the population has a general idea of what they want, but they do not have any plans for how to get it.

– Only 10 percent of the population has specific, well-defined goals – and seven out of ten of those people reach their goals most of the time.

– The top 3 percent of folks who take time to define specific goals, write them down, and take a planned course of action to reach them achieved their goals 89 percent of the time.

I’m a firm believer that you can have whatever you want in life – and that, ultimately, you are the one responsible for how your life turns out.

I always take time at the end of each year to write down my goals (actually, I do it a lot more often that that) … I recently found a journal from about five years ago where I wrote down my goals at the time … and it was uncanny … I had achieved and surpassed almost every one of them … I’m absolutely convinced this process works …

So, for example, if improved fitness is your goal, write it down. Be specific about it, and have a great reason why you want to get in shape. Is it for your health? To be there for your kids? To feel better and have more energy? Or even just to look great and feel good in your clothes? How much weight to you want to lose? By what date? And what’s your specific course of action to get there?

In conclusion, though New Year’s resolutions may not be your thing, take some time to reflect on 2013 set some concrete goals for the coming year. Remember, you are the creator of your own destiny and can have any kind of life you want … so, what are your goals for 2014?

– Forest

PS – Would love to hear your thoughts on this post in the comments section below!