"There's no such thing as a bad exercise..."

Recently, trainer to the stars Ben Bruno tweeted "there's no such thing as a bad exercise..just bad application". He then goes on to point out three exercises that he termed dumb: kipping pull-ups, burpees and the American kettlebell swing. It's a very funny tweet and you should check it out. I don't know Ben personally (but for some reason I'm comfortable enough calling him by his first name, weird) but I'm pretty sure he was being tongue in cheek. It isn't that the exercises are dumb necessarily but they are definitely poorly applied.

For instance, the kipping pull up is a gymnastics movement that's supposed to be used to get up on to a horizontal bar. The momentum used is then transferred into whatever the next movement of the routine is going to be. Somehow this movement has entered the strength and conditioning world.

The same thing for the burpee. In my experience, the only reason the burpee was created was to be a punishment during football practice. The crazy thing is when you mention burpees during a workout, you can tell everyone thinks of it as a punishment. Yet it still persists in exercise classes.

Again it's not that burpees and kipping pull-ups are necessarily dumb but they are skills that need to be taught and learned. The thing is trainers/coaches aren't taking the time to teach and people aren't taking the time to learn. Add to it that these exercises are usually done for high reps at intensities. This wouldn't be a problem except that these exercises can and often do lead to injuries.

To be fair this is the case with all exercises. If you do a lot of bad reps of any exercise at high intensities it is a recipe for disaster. Kipping pull-ups, burpees and American swings are just having a moment in time where people are flocking to classes to do them.

So like Ben said (again with the first name), there aren't any bad exercises. There is definitely a lot of bad exercise application on the other hand. When you do exercises badly, you make them look dumb. That's not fair to the exercise. Take the time to learn correct exercise form and execution. Better yet, demand that whoever is telling you to do the exercise teach you how to do it correctly.

Check out my Instagram and Facebook tomorrow for a video on what I call the Better Burpee. Also I don't say a lot here about the American swing. My mom always said "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."

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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Gym Do's & Don'ts

The gym can be a very intimidating place for newbies. So I thought I would take a minute to put down a few tips that will make the gym more welcoming. Here are a few do's and don'ts that we can employ to make the gym a friendlier place. DO: try all of the various pieces of equipment in you gym. You'll quickly realize that certain pieces of equipment are better for certain exercises. Different types of equipment will also provide variety and different types of intensity to your favorite exercises.

DON'T: be the person that takes out 18 pieces of equipment and then leaves them all on the floor. Nobody likes that person. NOBODY. If you take out a piece of equipment, return it to where you got it from. This includes re-racking your weights.

DO: walking lunges, sled pushes/drags and loaded carries.

DON'T: do them across the main gym floor where you're threatening to take out the guy who's not paying attention because he's trying to impress the girl on the bench next to his. Or even worse you could become the victim of someone who cuts across your path while you're carrying those 70lb kettlebells. Find an empty secluded part of gym and get carried away. (See what I did there?)

DO: remember that sharing is caring. If you're not using dumbbell at the moment and someone asks to borrow it, let them. Just make sure to POLITELY let them know that you'll need it back.

DON'T: just walk over and pick up a piece of equipment that someone has obviously taken out for a reason. POLITELY (hopefully you're noticing a theme) ask the person you can borrow the equipment while they are between sets. If he/she isn't there wait a few seconds before you just walk away with what you want.

DO: workout with intensity. Leave your magazines, newspapers, e-readers and any other reading devices in the locker room. If you're able to read and comprehend then you're probably not working hard enough. The same goes for watching TV on cardio machines.

DON'T: be the person screaming, grunting, "whooing" (there used to be a lady in my gym that would "whoo" while she was on the elliptical; we called her the "whoo lady") or throwing down dumbbells. I get it sometimes you need to grunt loudly to get that last rep or two. That shouldn't be happening on every rep of a set of 1o. Remember you're not the only one in the gym, again be POLITE.

DO:  make sure your surroundings are clear of people and hazards before you start your set.

DON'T: walk aimlessly in front of someone doing kettlebell swings, or any exercise for that matter. This is not only annoying, but it's dangerous. Dangerous for you and the person doing the exercise. I'm only half joking when I tell my clients, "I'd rather you hit him with the kettlebell than hurt yourself trying not to hit him." So if you do get hit by someone doing an exercise, POLITELY apologize and say it was your fault.

Feel free to comment with some other gym do's and don'ts that need to be pointed out. Also feel free to share with the gym goer you know that breaks all of these rules.

5 Things you'll need for a great home workout

For my wife and I life has become dictated by one question first and foremost: who's going to watch Graham? (Graham is our son if you haven't guessed). For those without children, children demand a lot of time and attention. A LOT OF TIME AND ATTENTION! For the record I love all the time I get to spend with my son and I wouldn't change it for the world. That being said, some things had to change. One of the biggest changes was my workouts. Life B.G. (before Graham) I could finish up with clients, dick around a while and then put myself through a nice leisurely workout. Now most days I have to finish up with clients and head home pick up Graham. This means my workouts are usually shorter and take place at home the majority of the time. So I thought it would be cool to list some of the essentials you'll need to create an effective at home workout space. Here goes:

1. SPACE: but not as much as you think. In life B.G., I had a whole room to workout in. Life after Graham, has relegated my workout space to the area between our coffee table our wall unit. I live in a 900 sq ft apartment in Brooklyn so we're not talking about a lot of space. When I'm feeling really crazy, I push the coffee table against the couch and I get a whole extra 5 FEET!!! Seriously though it doesn't take a lot of space to get a good workout. Stand up, reach your hands out to the side, if you didn't hit anything on either side you've got enough space. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about.
2. A BODY: specifically your body (it'd be weird if I was talking about somebody else's right?). I just typed the phrase 'body weight workouts' into Google and there were almost 9 million results. So having no equipment is no excuse for not being able to get a good workout at home. Squats, lunges, push ups and dips (to name a few) can be done anywhere. Try this: lie down on the floor and stand back up as fast as possible. Repeat 10 times. Then rest for a minute. Do this whole cycle a total of ten times (by the end you will have gotten down & up 100x).
3. TIME: again not as much as you think. Everyone knows that time is a commodity but people with infants and toddlers really know this. If your (I'm talking about you, the person reading this) average gym workout is an hour long, I'm almost willing to guarantee that same workout will only take about 40 minutes at home (assuming you had the same equipment available). You wouldn't have to wait for equipment and you wouldn't spend time talking to that lady you met that one time at some friend's party. Then once we take out the fluff (those stretches you only do because you saw the good looking guy/gal doing them at the gym) you can get a great workout in 30 minutes or less. Don't believe me? Comment and I'll send you the same workouts I gave to my wife when she asked for 30 minute workouts.

4. 

   TRX: or any suspension trainer. A TRX is a great way to make bodyweight exercises easier or harder when needed. A TRX also gives you access to exercises that normally you need weights or other equipment such as

   bicep curls. Another great thing about suspension trainers is that they are portable, so now it doesn't matter if the hotel gym smells like a person died in it during the first Bush administration.

5. KETTLEBELLS: an equal sized pair. [DISCLAIMER: if you've never used kettlebells, either get taught how to use them by a certified professional or don't read the rest of this section.] I'm a firm believer that eventually everyone needs to add some weight to their workouts because....well because science. Kettlebells don't take up much space (relatively) and they are great for both strength exercises (squat, presses, deadlifts) and power exercises (swings, cleans, snatches; again get proper instruction). Kettlebells are also relatively cheap once you consider the fact that you'll never have to replace a kettlebell. I suggest 16kg (~35lbs) for women and 24kg (~53lbs) for men. Once you can do all of the above exercises with the suggested bells then you can think about going heavier (for the last time, GET PROPER INSTRUCTION).

This is a list of 5, three of which everyone on the planet has. The other two are worth the investment many times over. The gym may have all the doodads and gadgets that we want for a workout but most of what we need is already at home. If you need home workout ideas let me know in the comments and I'll be glad to help out.