In this issue:
Video of the Week: the alternating clean
Once you've learned to clean a kettlebell without banging your forearms, here's a great drill to kick it up a notch. The alternating double clean is gaurenteed to leave you sucking wind. Grab 2 lite kettlebells and give it a shot!
Announcing "Enter the Kettlebell... The Workbook!'
As leaked in the last Minute of Strength , we have indeed been working on a brand new project. The new product is a detailed, follow-along workbook companion for Pavel Tsatouline's Enter the Kettlebell (AKA "ETK"). The product is an eBook which you can download immediately. We recommend immediately printing the 56 page manual and inserting it into a 3 ring binder. Keep it with you every day as you master Pavel's RKC Program Minimum and Rite of Passage (AKA "ROP") .
Why this workbook? I've pointed many of my clients to ETK. It is the best kettlebell manual on the market. It does not, however, spell out exactly what to do each day... and my clients improperly interpreted the information or just gave up entirely. I meticulously poured over ETK and other "Pavel classics" such as Beyond Bodybuilding to create this companion workbook. It takes away ALL the guesswork and includes some new ideas that I've found to be highly successful with my clients at Punch Kettlebell Gym in RI. If you own ETK, you need this workbook.
The workbook is structured as a 12 week program: 4 weeks of the RKC Program Minimum drills and 8 weeks of the ROP. However, I insist that you repeat any week that you don't perform well on... so it could extend out beyond 12 weeks as required. Simply reprint the pages of that week, get out your hole punch, and insert them in your custom training log.
Each day has a grid showing exactly what drills to do and for how much time (or how many reps). You simply check off completion of each in the checkboxes. There is also a notes section for each day to record any specific thoughts on your progress.
One of the hardest things for people to understand in the ROP phase is just what "lite, medium, and heavy" means in terms of swing effort. I break this down in a very effective, innovative, (and actually scientific) way that I haven't seen anyone else do before.
Also, Pavel calls for your to "roll the dice" through ETK to determine length of your workouts. That's great to introduce some needed variety... but not so good if you roll a 2 one day and a 12 the next. I took the liberty of rolling my own set of magic dice for you. Did I use loaded dice? Stop asking questions and get to work.
I put each element of this workbook to the test with real clients in the gym. If you like the information in ETK but have struggled to create your own workout regimen, let me do all the thinking for you. Don't worry, I'll still leave all the heavy lifting up to you! Purchase Enter the Kettlebell... the Workbook today and earn your Rite of Passage .
Click here for more details, excerpts, reviews, or to purchase.
Minute of Style: the adidas low racer
I've long been a fan of the Adidas Samba shoe for kettlebell training. They are really soccor shoes with a nice flat sole and better looks than the venerable "Chucks". Unfortunately, I found they didn't hold the contour of my foot through certain kettlebell drills. For example: when doing a getup, the samba can get a bit clumsy.
The Adidas Low Racer reacts like its name. It was originally designed to be a driving shoe. In fact, I first got a pair of racers just for that purpose. They really give you confidence when carving through turns at 150mph. One day, I happened to wear them into the gym and felt the same stability and performance while racing through my kettlebell circuit!
Many of my clients had shoe trouble with squat thrusts, getups and cossack squats. Sambas and othe flat soled shoes just did not have the necessary support. The Adi Low Racer is made in colaboration with Goodyear. The Goodyer rubber sole doesn't roll like many other flat soled shoes. Even with the extra support, however, you are still able root your feet.
Do I like 'em because they are very functional for training? Sure.... but I mainly like that you can also wear them with a casual shirt and a pair of jeans. They are probably the coolest kicks around right now. Your are already into the coolest training in the world... now it's time to look the part!
Check out the Adidas Low Racer here.