Benefits of Kettlebells

Kettlebells have become so popular that I have multiple clients who have sets of them in their apartment building gyms. Now if you've ever spent any time in an apartment building gym you know that they aren't necessarily recognized as being "state of the art". However, the kettlebell isn't a "state of the art" piece of workout equipment. Kettlebells (not "kettleballs" or "cattle bells") have been around for hundreds of years. In the last 5-10 years they've made a huge resurgence. Difference between a kettlebell & dumbbell

The obvious difference is the shape. A dumbbell has equal weights on the end of a bar/handle that can be held in one hand. In the simplest terms, a kettlebell is a weighted ball (traditionally iron) with a handle. The different shapes make for different functionality and use. Without having to consult my 11th grade physics textbook, the center of mass of a dumbbell sits in your palm (when holding by the handle); with a kettlebell the center of mass sits outside the hand more on the back of the wrist.

I only mention this because these differences will change how "heavy" a kettlebell and dumbbell of equal weight feels, even when doing the same exercise. The different shapes also will change how you move and what you can do with each tool.

Benefits of using kettlebells

• Versatility: KBs can be used for any type of exercise: power, strength, cardio or corrective. KBs can be used to do just about every movement type: push, pull, squat, hinge and carry.
• Portability: other than having a KB or two you don't need to have any other equipment to get a great workout in. This means you can take KBs anywhere and you don't have to be confined to a gym. You can take bells out to a park or keep a few at home for quick and not so easy workouts.

These are just a couple of the big picture benefits that training with KBs can offer. Here's a video showing how you can use a KB to string together a bunch of different exercises. The video shows how a KB can be used to perform strength exercises and also how it can be used to get a cardiovascular workout.

Kettlebells do have a learning curve. You need to get coaching before trying some the ballistic movements, namely the clean and the snatch. If you have any questions or would like to set up some coaching let me know.

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Distracting distractions...

Right now you're probably supposed to be doing something else. It could be prepping a document for work, it could be housework, it could be working out. The fact is that reading this is distracting you from doing something else. Unfortunately distractions are a part of life. Before we go on though, there is a difference and a distraction and unavoidable life/work events. Life/work events come up from time to time that need to be taken care of immediately. For instance, I normally have this blog post written by 12 noon. It's 4:30 right now and I'm just sitting down to write this. GHB (my son) had an allergic reaction to some bug bites and we had to take a quick trip to the doctor. He's ok. The trip to the doctor wasn't a distraction, it was unavoidable.

On the other hand distractions are completely avoidable. As a matter of fact, you usually choose distractions to avoid doing something else. I would never choose a trip to pediatrician with 2 year old. I would choose my Facebook feed over bookkeeping. I take the time to point out the difference because I've known plenty of people who confuse distractions with unavoidable events all the time. As a general rule of thumb, if you find yourself in the middle of the same unavoidable events/situations then they are most likely distractions.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about avoiding distractions.

Deadlines: if your TPS report is due in 2 hours and it usually takes you 3, you probably don't have Minesweeper open on your desktop. You might have to be over the age of 35 to get those references. The point is having a deadline forces you to bare down and do what you need to do.

Environment: I normally write and do most of my work that isn't with clients in Starbucks. My wife thinks this is weird since I don't drink coffee. I like to go to Starbucks because it's not home. At home there is a TV and a kitchen and a bed and a couch. All Starbucks has to offer is amazing WiFi and a beverage I want no part of. The physical space you're in can/will effect your production.

Schedule: this kind of goes with deadlines but it's a little different. If you know you have tasks that have to get done then allot an appropriate time for each task. By appropriate I don't just mean "this will take an hour so I'm going to give it an hour." It may take an hour but if you want to claw your eyes out after 20 minutes, it may be more appropriate to allot 15 minutes and then go to one of your other tasks for a little bit and then come back. This is better than being on task for 20 minutes and then wasting 30 minutes on something non-productive.

Allow the distractions: I do KenKen puzzles everyday. It's stupid, I know, but if I don't do them they sit in the back of my mind and keep reminding me that I haven't done them. The easiest way for me to prevent this is to just do the stupid puzzles. So I make them the first thing I do when I start to do work. I allow myself to waste 10 minutes to prevent hours of wasting energy trying to not think about KenKen. If you know you have something that's just gonna nag you then just get it out of the way.

These are just a few techniques you can use to avoid distractions. Having a plan is going to be your best bet to avoid distractions. Try some of these out and get back to work.

Squatting Basics

I've mostly been writing about some pretty abstract things like change (and here & here) and motivation. This post is going to be more concrete. It's about the squat. Last week a friend sent me a text about squatting and how to do them correctly. My elementary school teachers always said if I had a question then somebody else probably has the same question. So I figured this would be as good a place as any to talk about the squat. Squats pretty much work all the muscles in your thighs, predominantly the quads (front of thigh), glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back of thigh). Since these are such large muscles squats are a great cardio option along with being a one of the best strength exercises. While squats focus on the legs, squats are a full body exercise. They require mobility and stability at different parts of the body. So you may need to do some stretching and warmup exercises before hand. Also it may take time to be able to do a full range of motion squat.

First thing you should know is that squatting is good for you, despite what you may have heard. Second thing is that everybody squats at some point everyday. I can confidently say this because everyone sits and/or goes to the bathroom everyday. Knowing those two things, everyone should add squats to their workout routine.

So with that being said I'm going to lay out the basic components to a good squat. A couple of caveats before I start. First, squats (actually no exercise) shouldn't hurt while you're doing them. If there is pain stop. Go to a professional (orthopedist, chiropractor, physical therapist, trainer) to figure out what is causing the pain. Second, it's up to you to figure out your starting point. If you can't get full range of motion on day one that's ok. Keep working on it and there will be progress. Let's get to it...

• Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart: I say "about" because this is going to be different for everyone. Some people will be able to have a narrower stance and some will need to be wider. Also your toes will probably be somewhere between being pointed straight ahead and 45°. Stance is highly individual so you're going to have to experiment a little to find what works best.
• Sit BACK and down: squatting occurs at the hips. Pushing your butt back is the first movement and then it goes down. Stand in front of a bench/chair: take a step away: sit on the bench/chair. Notice how you have to "reach" back to get to the chair/bench? This is the   you want to replicate when you squat.
• Keep  your back straight: your spine (back) should not move when you're doing a squat, especially if you're using weights. This one may be a little tougher depending on your flexibility. Imagine you have a broomstick taped to your back when you squat. Now depending on the length of your legs and torso, your torso may be completely vertical, more "folded" down towards the ground or somewhere in between. No matter where the torso ends up just make sure the spine/back doesn't move to get there.
• Butt just below parallel: the goal of the squat is to get the butt just below the knees. If you can get lower while keeping your back straight that's great but from a strengthening stand point, just below parallel is the standard. Also the lower you go the higher the risk your lower back will round (remember the back moving is a no-no). If you can't get below parallel try stretching your glutes, quads and calves and keep squatting. This is a case where practice will lead to closer to perfect.
• Keep your heels down: your feet should stay flat on the ground the whole time. Don't lift the heels just so you can get lower. If you can't get low without lifting your heels, work on stretching the areas I mentioned above and only go to the point where your heels begin to rise.

These are the main points a beginner squatter needs to remember. There are hundreds of squat variations. These rules will hold true in the vast majority of variations. Once/if you can follow all of these rules then you can begin to add weight or try more advanced squat variations. Try these out and/or share with a friend. Let me know if you have any questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkbtqX4U6Ts

Step Into The Rack...

The first time I wrote my wife a workout program it included barbell squats. She asked how she was supposed to do them. My caveman response was along the lines of "go into the squat rack and squat." To which she replied, "I don't do that". After some back and forth, I figured out it wasn't that she didn't want to do barbell squats, it was more she didn't know  how to go about doing barbell squats. Not so much how to do the exercise but how to set up the squat rack for the exercise. Let's talk about the squat rack. They come in many different shapes and sizes but they are all mostly large, hulking and somewhat foreboding pieces of equipment usually off in the corner of the gym. The fact that it houses the weight plates that aren't being used and is called the cage by some, I can see why the squat rack might not crack your 'Top 10 Places to Visit in 2016' list.

That being said though, the squat rack/cage (whatever you want to call it) should be one of the places that you visit the most when you go to the gym. Despite it's name, the squat rack is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in every gym. You can obviously do barbell squats but you can also do overhead presses, bench presses and bent over rows to name a few other barbell exercises. Most cages will come equipped with pull-up bars and may even have attachments so you can do other body weight exercises such as dips and elevated push ups. Oh yea, you can do curls in the squat rack also. You shouldn't do them there but you can. Let me repeat, YOU SHOULDN'T DO CURLS IN THE SQUAT RACK.

Here's a short video describing how to set up a squat rack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrvr12a5eHw

Dumbbells For Not So Dummies

In just about every gym you'll find a guy doing curls too close to a rack of weights. Never mind the dummy, let's concentrate on the dumbbells (the weights on the rack).  Dumbbells are excellent tools for increasing strength, muscle tone and muscle endurance. Meaning they can help with just about everything you're trying to achieve by working out. A dumbbell is a free weight, meaning it can be moved around, characterized by a bar with weighted plates on each end.

Dumbbells come in either fixed or adjustable weights. If the dumbbells are fixed weight, the weight is usually written or etched into the sides of the plates. Fixed weight dumbbells range from as light as 1 pound up to as heavy as 200 pounds, though most commercial  gyms will max out around 120 pounds.

Adjustable dumbbells, like fixed weight, come in many different varieties but for the most part they all work the same way. You have the center bar and you (evenly) add plates until you reach the desired weight. The weights are then held in place by a collar that is either spring loaded or locked into place.

Dumbbells are great because they allow the user the option of using both hands simultaneously or individually. Dumbbells allow for alternating exercises (one side then the other) and reciprocating exercises (both arms moving at the same time but in opposite directions). Dumbbells are also an effective tool because you can move them in just about every way imaginable depending on how heavy they are.

The last benefit I just mentioned is also big drawback of the dumbbell. The fact that it can and will move in a variety of directions make the dumbbell a tool that novice exercisers have to be careful with. That being said, I would suggest when starting to exercise with dumbbells to err on the lighter side. This way the worst that happens is that the exercise is too easy and you make it a little heavier the next set.

So (not so) politely say excuse me to the dummy in front of the rack and grab a pair of dumbbells and start pressing, squatting, deadlifting and what ever other exercise you can think of. Leave a comment if you have any questions and share with someone with who's been wondering about those weights on the rack.