A ten minute lesson - the Kettlebell Sport inspired challenge

A Ten Minute Lesson

by

Roland Denzel, IKFF-CKT

This article also featured on JPFitness, Feel free to comment or ask questions about this program and many other articles, topics, and programs, here or at JP's.


A ten minute history lesson

I’m currently training for a sport called Kettlebell Sport. At the face of it, it sounds dumb. The name sounds dumb, anyway. Kettlebell Sport. It started in Russia, where it’s called Girevoy Sport.  Way back when, kettlebells were only weights used to weigh grain on big scales, not weightlifting tools.  The heavy weights, or girya, had those handles so a farmer could lift the weight on and off the scale.

Presumably, after a long day of weighing stuff, the farmers hit the kettlebells and hit the vodka, all the while challenging each other to lift, swing, and press the kettlebells more and more times.  Their kettlebells were just a couple of pretty standard weights, so challenging each other to go heavy started at 16kg and ended at 32kg. Going for time or reps was the challenge, and after many repeated challenges, the “sport” was born, finally settling on a period of ten minutes, which is really quite a challenge.  It caught on over there in Russia, and people have been doing these ten minute challenges ever since.

Don’t have any kettlebells?  Dumbbells are the other option for this ten minute lesson, but they have a far less interesting history, including no Dumbbell Sport! Dumbbells have been around for thousands of years, but since they were actually designed for strength training, there’s less opportunity for crazy. Still, you might think it’s crazy enough just trying to jerk a weight for ten minutes!

The challenge

Our challenge, using a dumbbell or a kettlebell, is based on this ten minute competition that started back in Russia, years ago. In short, the goal in the sport is to perform lifts, pretty much non-stop, for ten minutes. The winner is the one with the most reps. There are a few rules and complications for the real competitors, but the bottom line is ten minutes, non-stop, hard exercise. That’s tough.

I know it might sound pretty ho hum, but think about picking up a dumbbell that you can press overhead ten times. Now start pressing it overhead, as fast or as slow as you like, for ten minutes…without setting it down. What about rest? Sure, you can rest, let it settle on your shoulder for as long as you like. After you’ve “rested,” press some more. If you still can’t imagine, try it for a few minutes. Long before you get to ten, you’ll see my point.

In competition, you’re going all out. You have a strategy to get as many reps as possible in your ten minutes, pacing yourself, counting reps and minutes, and resting strategically. You need at least one more rep than the other guy, but you can’t know how many he’s going to get so you just go, go, go!

In training, the idea is to increase your reps over time. Each week, you need to try to get more reps done. You’re challenging not just time and the weight in your hands, but your body and your mind. You are pushing yourself to go one more rep, all the while it’s getting harder and harder as the minutes count toward ten. Yes, you can rest, but the rest that’s allowed is a joke – you can’t set the weight down or you’re out. You have to hold it to rest. Brutal.


How (and why) to fit this into your regular program

First, why am I recommending that you subject yourself to this ten minute lesson?  Let’s face it, it’s just ten minutes. It’s ten hard minutes, but still just a short time. Don’t let the brief nature fool you, it’s tough. Just like four minutes of Tabatas didn’t fool you, at least not twice, don’t let these fool you, either.

Most of us want to get stronger, leaner, and better conditioned, and we look for ways to burn more calories and get in more reps, all without destroying our progress in the weight room, the track, or the kitchen.


Enter GPP (the why of it all)

You may have heard the acronym GPP, or General Physical Preparedness before. The last few years, “doing” GPP has become popular, even though many people don’t know why they want to do it. I think I first learned of GPP via an article by Dave Tate, who found himself super strong, but unable to walk up a flight of stairs or chase after a ball without feeling like dying. Dave looked for ways to improve his GPP, got in “better shape,” and then found that he was able to also work harder under the bar. GPP helped him get stronger.

In many ways GPP is a fun way to exercise, at least the way it’s been portrayed in the fitness media, sites, and blogs. GPP routines are often swinging sledgehammers, pulling sleds, throwing medicine balls, and flinging sandbags. These activities are so dissimilar that it should make you wonder what the hell they all have in common. They can all be used for GPP, that’s what.

The fact is that GPP is just anything that gets you better conditioned and prepared for “general” activities. It’s non-specific for the most part, and rarely involves the same tools, exercises, or activities that you do in your sport of choice. It’s really just designed to get you into a condition where you can handle a good and hard workload without dropping, dying, or quitting early. Good GPP programming also teaches you to push yourself farther and harder than you thought you could handle, but at a safer physical level than you might be able to in your sport.

Without the conditioning, willpower, and drive to really push to your limits, getting in the reps to get stronger isn’t going to happen, going the extra mile isn’t going to happen, and putting on the speed and sprinting to the finish line might be less like a Ferrari and more like a Prius. Your better GPP puts you in the position, physically and mentally, to push yourself harder, getting stronger, faster, and allowing you to burn more calories in the process.

There are many other activities that fall into the GPP category, such as sprinting, barbell complexes, bodyweight circuits, calisthenics, rope jumping, walking, hiking, and so much more.  You’re likely doing several of these things already, as they are in many great programs, such as the New Rules of Lifting books, Power Training, Turbulence Training, and the Female Body Breakthrough. They may not call it GPP, but GPP it is.

So, I hope I’ve convinced you to keep up, or add in, GPP work. You obviously have a ton of options, since there’s little right or wrong, but I think this plan fits the bill for many people. For most people it’s going to be a better option than many of the others listed.

• Short – I think a 15-20 minute training session is just perfect for an off day GPP session, so my Ten Minute Lesson fits the bill.  Including a warmup, a cooldown stretch, and a shower, you can get these workouts done in 30 minutes.  A lunch break with room to spare for most of us.
• Short, part two – A ten minute set at the end of your regular training session is perfect. This is where many books and programs typically have you do your intervals, HIIT, Tabatas, jump rope, or a short bout of steady state cardio, so these fit perfectly.
• Very little equipment needed – One kettlebell or dumbbell is all it takes. That means it’s good for home or the gym. No excuses.
• Full body, multi-joint exercise – All the suggested exercises are chosen to hit as much of the body as possible, in minimum time. This is a huge selling point for barbell complexes and  bodyweight circuits that are so popular. Many of the same benefits are found here, too.
• Self-regulating – Because you’re always trying to beat your last number, you’re forcing yourself to work a little harder over time. Whether it’s a quick increase or large jumps in progress isn’t important. What’s important is that you’re getting just a little bit better, session after session. It’s easy to track, easy to manage, and satisfying to see progress.
• Easy to see the progression – Many times, intervals and complexes have no progression that you can count on. They shorten the rest periods, increase the distance, and other parameters. I’m sure they work, but they take faith to follow them. After a few cycles, you can test to see if you’re better, but until then, you just have to trust that the progression is doing the trick. If it’s not, you won’t know for a month or more, if ever.
• Safer – Good, safe sprinting takes training to avoid injury.  Sledgehammer and tire flipping aren’t as safe as they seem…  There are safe options, and this is one of them.
• Less intimidating – I’ve been embarrassed to do circuits of jumping jacks, burpees and squat jumps in the gym. I know I shouldn’t be, but leave me alone! Don’t look at me!

I feel like I could go on and on, which is why I wrote this article, but I think that’s a good list right there.


How to fit it in

Because it’s short and a little bit brutal, my suggestion is to do it where you would do an interval or HIIT workout. If you’re doing some sort of Tabata or bodyweight circuit for fat loss, just drop them and do these instead.

Like I wrote above, dumbbell and kettlebell jerks are full body, multi-joint exercises, as are the more advanced lifts listed later. They are going to work your entire body, and they are extremely taxing.  Make sure to do them on an off day from your weights, or at the end of a weight training session, not at the beginning.

As unpleasant as this activity sounds, it’s actually very rewarding – the challenge more than makes up for the hard work and sweat. With these ten minute sessions, like we do in Kettlebell Sport, what you will learn about your own tenacity will make the experience worthwhile. The calories you burn will be worth it, too. A nice bonus.

I’m not going to ask you to start with a weight that’s going to kill you, the idea is to be able to do it, and build up over time, challenging yourself as you get stronger and more conditioned.

I’m not going to require you to learn to snatch or clean a kettlebell, either. The goal isn’t the lift or the implement, it’s the challenge, the exercise, and the calories burned.

Now, choose your exercise, estimate your reps per minute, set the timer, and get ready to go.


Choose your exercise – Beginner Exercises


DB Jerk
KB Jerk

I chose just these two lifts because they are fairly safe to do and they are easy to learn from a description. For more advanced moves, check out the list at the end of the article. 

DB Jerk

1. Stand with feel about shoulder width apart
2. Hoist the DB to your shoulder
3. Hip and knees are slightly bent, like you’re ready to jump
4. Dip down just a bit, then explode back up, propelling the DB upward
5. Dip down again, getting under the DB to catch it at the top
6. Lock it out at the top
7. Drop the DB back to the shoulder, cushioning the drop by allowing the hip and knees to bend again
8. Repeat steps 3-7 for your reps

This is a one handed exercise, so at some point you’ll need to switch hands. I would try to switch at the minute mark, each time.

KB Jerk

1. Stand with feel about shoulder width apart
2. Hoist the KB to the rack position, cradled against your chest in the crook of your arm
3. Hip and knees should be slightly bent, like you’re ready to jump
4. Dip down just a bit, then explode back up, propelling the KB upward
5. Dip down again, getting under the KB to catch it at the top
6. Lock it out at the top
7. Drop the KB back to the rack position, cushioning the drop by allowing the hip and knees to bend again while sinking backward
8. Repeat steps 3-7 for your reps

This is a one handed exercise, so at some point you’ll need to switch hands. I would try to switch at the minute mark, each time.

Estimating your reps per minute

This can be tough to do the first time, especially if you’ve never done these lifts before. When in doubt, aim low. If you kill it, you can go heavier or with more reps next time.

You will have ten minutes of exercise.  If you can jerk the dumbbell twenty times straight, with just one hand, then a good goal might be ten jerks per minute to start. 

While you can set a timer for just ten minutes, it’s very hard to know how things are going like that. It’s torture to not know how much longer you have, so don’t even try this. I prefer 20 rounds of 30 seconds, which gives me just enough warnings to keep me going and keep me from wondering.

You will need a timer, of course.

Timer options

• Watch – you might have a watch with a good timer, so take a look there, first.
• Gymboss – I recommend this since it has so many combinations. Cheap and portable. Plus it’s got a vibrate feature which is good for the public gym. This is what I use when I train outside.
• iPhone Apps – I understand that iPhones have timer applications you can get, but I’ll leave that to the iPhone users (I’m Blackberry). I know Blackberries and other phones have them, too, so look around.
• A big clock – For a few bucks at the discount store, Target, Walmart, etc. you can have a large analog clock with a second hand. Manually set it to noon and lift until 12:10.
• PC/Mac Timer – If you plan to do these in the house (like I often do), you can find many freeware timers on the internet.  Here’s one at Ross Training, but there are others out there.
• MP3 – I made a 10 minute long mp3 that chimes every once in a while to keep me in the loop.

Are you ready?

Your dumbbell or kettlebell is ready to go?  You’ve chosen your target reps per minute?  Your timer is set so you can see it or hear it? 

Before I say “go,” here are a few final reminders.


Stick to the plan – At the end of minute number one, two, or three, you might feel like you can do far more than your rep target. You must resist and stick to the plan. By the time you get to minute six, seven, and eight, you’ll be struggling to hit the same target that was so easy just a few minutes ago.

Switch hands – Remember to switch hands.  Try to go as long as you planned before switching. I would switch hands at the minute mark, if possible, resting until each minute is up. Over time, you’ll improve.

Active rest – It’s not the rest you want, but it’s the rest that’s allowed. When you need to, drop the KB to the rack position and hold it there to rest.  If you are using a DB, then drop it to your shoulder or upper chest. Don’t put it on the ground.

When to rest – Rest when you need to, of course, but always rest after your reps are done for each minute. Do not push on and get more reps. Stick to the plan, get your reps done, and get more reps next week.

Now GO!


Evaluating your results

After you’re done and recovered a bit, consider how well you did.  Was it too easy to complete all of your reps in the ten minutes? Instead of 10 per minute, try targeting 11 or 12 per minute next week. Did you gas out in minute six or eight? Maybe you went too fast for that weight. Why not try 8 reps per minute, next week. Was it too light or too heavy? Try a different weight next week. The options are almost endless, and there’s no right or wrong.

This first week was tough, right? Next time, with your new target to hit, it’s going to get tougher. You’re battling yourself, and it takes at least one more rep at the end to win the battle. After a few sessions, you’re going to look back at your progress and impress yourself.


Recommended advanced exercises

For those of you who have been swinging kettlebells or dumbbells for quite some time, here are a few more advanced exercises.

Dumbbells

DB Clean
DB Snatch
DB Clean & Jerk

Note – The choice of whether to set the dumbbell on the ground between reps or to swing it between the legs is up to you, and depends on your flexibility, mobility, and your ability to not whack yourself with the dumbbell as it swings down and back.  If you have doubts, do them from the floor, just setting it down long enough to start from a dead stop.  Rest is only allowed on the shoulder or upper chest, just like in the DB Jerk.


Kettlebells

KB Snatch *
KB Jerk *
KB Clean & Jerk *
KB Clean

Note – The * denotes the official Kettlebell Sport lifts.  Kettlebell Clean & Jerk is also knows as Long Cycle, while the Snatch and Jerk are often done as a two event competition known as Biathlon.

Even though the kettlebell snatch and jerk are a big part of Kettlebell Sport, without training and practice, both will include pain. Both the kettlebell clean and kettlebell snatch require some special techniques to keep the kettlebell from swinging over and slamming against your forearm, causing serious lumps and bruises. Save these exercises for after you’ve gotten hooked and got some training.

Why no dumbbell or kettlebell swings?  Because there’s no good way to perform the active rest. You can hold it in your hands, but that’s still killing your grip, and setting it down defeats the purpose of the active rest. I love swings, but not here.


Wrap up

I know you may end up cursing me for this little program, but it’s for a good reason, not just to torture you. I’m not going to be so cocky as to say it builds character, but what it does do is show you what “hard” really is. Why is that important? Because many of us these days think things like walking to the park is hard.

If you find that you like the way you’re challenging yourself with these ten minute sets, eventually you may decide to look into Kettlebell Sport. Then, things really get going. Did I mention that guys in competition have to use two kettlebells for the clean and jerk? Oh, bad reps don’t count, of course, and you’re only allowed to switch hands once in your entire ten minutes, you really need to be sharp and tough. That really takes things to the next level!

Like I said earlier, this is not a training program, per se, but it’s a good part of your weekly exercise plan. Do your Ten Minute Set in place of intervals, sprinting, or the cardio at the end of your weight training session. If you’re doing them hard enough, you’ll soon know what hard is.

Speaking of Kettlebell Sport, here’s fellow IKFF-CKT and Kettlebell Sport Chick, Nazo, doing ten minutes of Clean & Jerk in competition.



Oh, the blue kettlebell means 12kgs, in case you’re wondering…



This article has also been featured on JPFitness, Feel free to comment or ask questions about this program and many other articles, topics, and programs, here or at JP's.

Look

I love my coconut milk!

My winning California Wild Rice Tamales recipe!

California Wild Rice Rumble, 2010!

A few months back, I entered the California Wild Rice Board's Wild Rice Rumble recipe contest. The info for all the winners went up just a day or so before I was off to Bulgaria so I didn't get the chance to show off!  But, since blogging is mostly "me, me, me," I have to be sure to make you aware of my awesomeness!

First, congratulations to all the winners. I'm honored to be there among all these Chefs; chefs with the capital C!

I had two wins in the contest, my California Wild & Salmon Cream Cheese Roll and the California Wild Rice Tamales highlighted here today!

The backstory on the tamales is that Galya was involved heavily (shocker!)..She not only came up with the actual idea of the tamales, but is also a wrapper of tamales, co-chef, photography director, set designer,  food taster, and much, much more. We are partners in many cooking endeavors, and I'm sure that comes as no surprise to many of you. There will be many more big wins in our future!

The Winning Wild Rice Photo

California Wild Rice Tamales

A printable PDF can be downloaded here, btw.

Recipe makes 16 Tamales

Ingredients:

3 cups hominy (canned, drained)
1½ cup dry wild rice
3 tbsp butter, divided
1 large white onion (chopped)
1½ cup slow roasted tomatoes
(or rehydrated sun dried tomatoes)
1 ½ tsp green chilies (canned)
1 tbsp cumin, ground
1½ tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 cup grated Quesadilla or other good melting cheese
Cornhusks, soaked in warm water overnight
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Cook the wild rice according to the package directions, then drain and allow it to cool.

Use a blender, food processor, or handheld jar chopper to grind the hominy to a rough paste. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and stir into the hominy and salt to taste.

Heat a pan over medium high heat, and add the remaining tablespoon butter and onions. Cook the onions until lightly caramelized. Chop the tomatoes, draining them, if necessary, and add them to the pan along with the rice, chilies, and spices. Salt to taste. Set aside, allowing the mixture to cool a bit (10-20 minutes), and then stir in the grated cheese.

Tear one of the cornhusks into long strips. The strips will be used for tying the tamales closed, so set them aside for now. Take a new husk, and spread 1/3 cup of the hominy mixture over the wider end of the husk, flattening it well. Place 3 tbsp of the wild rice filling over the hominy and roll it up, making sure the entire filling is surrounded by the hominy mixture.

Bend or twist the ends of the cornhusks and tie them closed with one or more corn husk strips. Repeat until all the tamales are assembled. After you have assembled and tied all of the tamales, place them in a steamer basket in a covered pan and steam for about 30 minutes.

Serve hot with more chopped green chilies and red or green salsa.

Kettlebell Finishers

Kettlebell Finishers

by

Roland Denzel, IKFF-CKT

I love my kettlebells, and from the looks of the forum, a lot of you do, too. Also like me, many of you are still primarily using barbells and dumbbells to get stronger. Not that you couldn’t drop the barbells and dumbbells completely, and get bigger, stronger, or leaner using just kettlebells, but not everyone has a full set of kettlebells available. Your gym might only have one or two kettlebells, or you might be interested in getting just one to see how you like them. Maybe you just enjoy using barbells. I do.

Since you’re using conventional weights as your primary tool, you might wonder how you can incorporate some kettlebell fun into your training. To wet your whistle on kettlebells, I suggest adding in a kettlebell exercise or routine to your existing program, rather than making your program all about the kettlebell. The perfect place to use the kettlebell is as a workout “finisher.” What’s a finisher? It’s that part of your workout where you “test your mettle.”

A finisher isn’t relegated to kettlebells, it’s a generic term. It can be intervals, HIIT, Tabatas, or some crazy bodyweight circuits. Whatever it is, the author of your current program might already have you doing a “finisher,” whether he or she calls it one or not. The author probably told you that this part of the routine was to accelerate fat loss, raise your V02 Max, cause EPOC, or some other story. I don’t care so much about their reasons for making you do it, what I care about is the effects on your reality; the reality of you making progress toward fat loss and improved conditioning. Usually, reality says that a finisher will likely make you work damn hard, test your resolve, and cause sweat that just won’t stop. It reminds you that you’re working toward a goal of fat loss or conditioning, and that’s the reality that I want for you and for me.

In my experience, I’ve found that a finisher that really pushes me to work hard, reminds me to follow my diet plan, and encourages me to not throw away the hard work that I just did. I tend to feel the effects for hours, and the constant reminder of what I went through makes it that much easier to pass on the dessert.


Finisher vs. Workouts

Remember that these finishers aren’t actually your workout; these are calorie burners and mental challenges, more than anything. They come at the end of a workout or can even be done on an off day – when you want that reminder that you trained today. I for one, eat with purpose when I’ve trained, and even something as simple as a few rounds of kettlebell swings can do the trick.


Progression

While progression is key to improvement, it’s important to note that we don’t need to see progression on every exercise or every portion of every routine. Monitoring key elements of a routine is important to insure overall progress, but micromanaging each element of each workout is an exercise in futility and frustration.

That being said, assuming one goal of using doing your finishers is to increase your work capacity, do pick one routine to do on a repeat basis, then pick any other ones depending on mood, energy levels, and availability of equipment. I suggest one of these first two, Kettlebell Swings for Reps or Time Kettlebell Swings, since it’s easy to chart progress over time.


Reps and Sets vs Time

Since Kettlebells tend to have large jumps between weights, I don’t typically prescribe a set number of reps per set. The ability to do more reps in an amount of time, do the reps faster, or do reps for longer is typically used instead. While kettlebells can obviously make you stronger, this is where dumbbells and barbells typically shine, and are generally easier tools for pure strength and strength progression.


The Finishers are...

Kettlebell Swings for Reps

Pick a kettlebell that you can swing 20 times, either two handed or switching hands as needed

KB Swings – 20 reps
Rest 30s

Repeat for 4 more rounds (100 swings, total)

Next week, cut the rest period to 25 seconds. 20 the next. 15 the next.

At week 5, go back to 30 seconds with 5 or 10 more swings per round, then repeating the pattern of decreasing rest.

If you should ever get to 200 swings, feel free to start over with a heavier kettlebell, possibly switching to a two handed swing if the jump in kettlebell is weight seems like too much.

On the other hand, going longer and harder has it’s merits, so you can always add more rounds or even more swings per round and take it to the next level.


Timed Kettlebell Swings

Pick a kettlebell that you can swing for about 30s, either two handed or switching hands as needed. A Gymboss really helps with this one.

KB Swings, 30s
Rest 30s

Repeat for 4 more rounds

Each week, decrease the rest OR increase the time of swinging, but NOT both.


Mix it up

Alternating Reverse Lunges, 30s
Rest 30s
KB Pushups, 30s
Rest 30s
KB Alternating Renegade Rows, 30s
Rest 30s
KB Swings, 30s
Rest 30s
Goblet Squats, 30s
Rest 30s

Repeat 2 more rounds


Short Circuits

These are short, sweet, and simple, like my little cousin Violet. Also like babysitting Violet, these can really wipe you out!

You can do one or the other, or do both if you have it in you.


Short Circuits #1

KB Jerks, Left, 15s
KB Jerks, Right, 15s
KB Swings, 30s
Rest 60s

Repeat 2 times, then move on to Short Circuit #2


Short Circuit #2

KB Two Point Row, Left, 15s
KB Two Point Row, Right, 15s
Goblet Squats, 30s
Rest 60s

Repeat 2 times


The exercises

KB Alternating Reverse Lunges – Stand with your feet at about shoulder width, holding one or two kettlebells at your side(s). For what it’s worth, one kb is harder. Step back and sink down, bending both legs at the knees, until you reach a 90 degree angle. Focus your effort on pushing back up with your front leg using your glutes to generate force. Alternate every other leg.

KB Pushups – Place two kettlebells of about the same height about a shoulder width apart. Get in the push up position, your hands positioned on the kb handles. Keep your abs very tight as you slowly lower yourself down, with your ankles, knees, hips, upper back and head in one straight line. Lower yourself until your shoulders are lower than your elbows and push yourself back up until your elbows lock. Since you are elevated on kettlebells, you can get an extended range of motion, but only do so if it’s not painful.

KB Renegade Rows – Place two kettlebells of about the same height and weight about a shoulder width apart. Get in the push up position, your hands positioned on the kb handles. Keep your abs tight, rowing one kettlebell up and toward your waist. Pause at the top and then lower under control. If you have two different weights, make sure to switch hands for each circuit, so one arm doesn’t get hyooger than the other.

KB Goblet Squats – Stand with your feet about shoulder width, feet in line with your knees. Cradle the kettlebell against your chest. Begin as if you were going to sit down into a chair. Squat down as far as possible, sliding your elbows inside of your knees. You can push your knees out with your elbows if that helps you squat even deeper. Don’t let your lower back round. Only squat as far down as you can without rounding. Push back up to a standing position, pause, and repeat

KB Jerks – Stand with feel about shoulder width apart. Hoist the KB to the rack (cradled in the crook of your arm) position, cradled against your chest in the crook of your arm. Hip and knees should be slightly bent, like you’re ready to jump. Dip down just a bit, then explode back up, propelling the KB upward. Dip down again, getting under the KB to catch it at the top. Lock it out at the top. Drop the KB back to the rack position, cushioning the drop by allowing the hip and knees to bend again while sinking backward. Repeat your reps, starting with the first dip again.

KB Swings – Place your kettlebell on the ground between your feet, standing with feet about shoulder width apart. Pick up the kettlebell, then swing it back between your legs, hinging at the hips and slightly bending your knees while pushing your butt back and keeping your back flat. Absorb the momentum of the kettlebell with your butt and hamstrings, then quickly reverse its direction with explosive hips. Resist pulling with your arms, letting the hips do the work. Let the kettlebell rise as high as possible, then guide it back through your legs to repeat the swing. The entire ride should be smooth, with the exception of the explosive hip thrust.

KB Two Point Row – Hold the kettlebell in one hand. Stand with feet wider than shoulder width and bend over from the hips (e.g., shove your hips back, don’t just bend over) until your back is about 45 degrees to the floor. Have “soft” knees to help get into the proper position. Let the weight hang down toward the ground, with the other hand behind your back. Row the weight up until your arm is fully retracted. At the top, pause for a second, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then lower under control, pause, and repeat.


Wrap up

Just because the internet has kettlebell fever doesn’t mean you have to catch it, too (but you will). Get one or two, or use them at your gym. Test the waters and see how you like it. If you get the fever (and you will), you can always buy more of them and join the kettlebell cult at any time! They’re always looking for new members.

By the way, the circuits and exercises that I’ve shown you here are just scratching the surface. I picked these because they take little training, pose little danger, and use just one or two lighter weight kettlebells. If you have the training and the kettlebells, take off and run with it.

What’s your favorite finisher? I’d love to see what you’ve come up with, so let me know!

This article has also been featured on JPFitness, Feel free to comment or ask questions about this program and many other articles, topics, and programs, here or at JP's.

BTW, Perform Better is having a great sale, including some great quality kettlebells at a good price.  They are also one of the few places who seem to ship heavy things for a reasonable price! ...and kettlebells are heavy...

Roland's First Lyutenitsa Recipe

Roland's First Lyutenitsa Recipe

It's not easy to find Bulgarian recipes on the internet, and the recipe in my cookbook is lacking detail on this one recipe. I had lyuntenitsa several times in Bulgaria, and all of the versions had spices or herbs included, but none of the recipes I've found so far, do. I had to improvise.

My favorite version was at Skara Bar, in Sofia. I heard that theirs is not traditional, but that's fine. It included cinnamon, which was different from all the others, and that's fine, too.

Skara Bar's beef, misc stuff, and lyutenitsa

It's good for dipping a potato wedge or for spooning over grilled meat and sausage, but Bulgarians also just eat it with a spoon.


Lyutenitsa

Originally, I used four tomatoes and a pint of cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomotoes were very ripe and very good, but talk about a mistake. Despite the fact that the skins do slip right off after the boiling water treatment, you do not want to skin thirty little tomatoes. Just make sure to buy tomatoes that are actually good and ripe, and adjust your numbers according to their size. 8 large, 12-15 roma, etc.

Serves: a lot when used as a condiment, a lot less when you eat it as a vegetable.

Ingredients

8 large tomatoes
3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt to taste
vinegar to taste

Directions

Skin the tomatoes by dropping them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then fish them out. Make an X with a sharp knife on the stem end and peel with your fingers and/or a paring knife. The skin should pretty much slip off.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil until hot. Cook the onion, garlic, and peppers until soft and until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomatoes and cinnamon, then bring it to a simmer.

Allow it to slowly simmer  forever, or at least overnight.

Traditionally, this stuff would simmer all day and night, in huge cauldrons, thickening and breaking down until it's nice and thick and rich. To mimic this you have to be around, watching the uncovered pan simmer and thicken. A slow cooker tends to hold in a lot of the moisture, so going that route might mean putting on the stove for the last hour to reduce a bit. Doable, but extra steps.

Salt to taste. Vinegar to taste. Just a bit at a time and taste as you go. I started with one tsp at a time, finally settling on 3 tsp in the end.

Serve hot, warm, or cold.  Serve as a dip, a sauce for meat, or as a side dish.

My lyutenitsa was great. Sweet and tangy and lot of flavor. Not Skara Bar great, but great none-the-less.

I meant to ask politely for the recipe when I was at Skara Bar, but I was full and satisfied, so I forgot. I'll have to write them when I get tired of not getting mine just right.

Everyone their religion, everyone their faith

crossfit
the slow burn
functional movement
paleo
barefoot running
body part splits
ART
low carb
kettlebells
21 day cleanse
everything in moderation
vegan
etc
etc
etc

The cries are "insulin!" "Syndrome X!" "rat study!" "the Kitavans!" "physical culture!" "the Tarahumara!" and more. These conversation ending cries echo across forums, Facebook, and the blogosphere, proving nothing more than each side has it's faith in their own chosen method. Each side knows the other side is blinded by the light of their own truth. Neither side sees that their "lack of religion" on the subject is a religion unto itself.

This song may have nothing to do with this post, but I will force a square peg into a round hole. I remember when he "came out" and some people were surprised. Some looked back and could "see it now." Others shook their heads and said "it was right there all along."

New Program at JPFitness.com

Most of you probably know me from JPFitness.com, but if not, I'll point you there now.  JPFitness.com

JP's is one of the best forums on the internet for good, balanced training and nutrition advice. If you're interested in getting in shape, getting back in shape, taking up lifting, running, swimming, kettlebells, or whatever, get over there and check things out.

My forum name is Lost Dog over there, just in case it's not obvious.  You can also find Galya over there.  Her forum name is Galya (she's so creative).

So, if you're new to fitness and wondering what to do, there are tons of suggestions over there, like the New Rules of Lifting, and the New Rules of Lifting for Women, for instance.

While you might have to wait for your book to come in the mail, you don't have to wait to start getting in shape.  Gal and I wrote a program to get you going.  Check it out.  It's the Beginner's Kickstart Training Program.

JP's has some stuff for the more experienced people, too.  My friend Chris Bathke wrote a sweet program on getting fit for summer.  There's more to come, too, including a kettlebell routine by yours truly, and a nice home workout plan from Gal and me.

I hope to see you over there!

Making Greek Yogurt

It's so easy. It's cheaper than buying it, too.

I typically use my own homemade yogurt, but you can use yogurt from the store, just make sure there's no guar gum or other stabilizer. These things keep the yogurt from separating, and separating is actually what you want here.  I'll demonstrate with some TJ's yogurt.  It's actually really good yogurt and tastes good strained.

Follow the pics and let it drain in the fridge overnight.

Because of something called physics, you might need a bigger cup for the draining liquid, so choose accordingly. I get about a cup of liquid from two cups of yogurt, so if you strain a lot, it could overflow a small cup.

 If you have an old manual drip coffee basket, you could always use that instead of a funnel.

Fill with yogurt.

Cover with some sort of lid or plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for very thick yogurt.

Sure, you can get more elaborate with a cheesecloth (or a bandana) and a big colander, but I don't make that much. Plus, it's a mess to clean up.  This makes just enough for a serving or two, which is enough for a treat.

My first Bulgarian salad

Ok, fresh back from Bulgaria, and I'm missing my easy access to veggies on the run.  In Bulgaria, every restaurant had decent salads - a combination of simplicity, no dressings to screw up, and a seeming fanaticism for fresh and flavorful veggies!
 

This market is daily, not like our weekly farmers' markets

 

The salads aren't the typical lettuce salads of America, instead they are typically simple combination of ingredients, like non-American cucumbers, tomatoes, mild or sweet chilis, onions, and parsley (not the curly stuff, either).  They are nearly always topped with serine (Bulgarian feta cheese).  There are a few options; olives, hard boiled eggs, and ham, not to mention basil instead of parsley, roasted peppers, pickled peppers, pickled onions, garlic, and more.

The choices of salads on the Bulgarian menu is staggering, but just to make it fun, they are all virtually the same, each just has a little twist.  ..and rather than say "Shopska Salad" -- which is tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, parsley, and cheese -- then list the options, they give each one a name.  Village Salad is a Shopska with eggs. Shepherd's Salad is a Village with ham.  Fresh Salad is Shopska sans cheese.

To make things worse, how it's cut up and arranged can mean a whole new list of names!  Once I ordered something called Bright Salad, and what came to the table was a Fresh Salad, but it was arranged like a veggie tray, in cute little rows.

As confusing as this sounds, they were all good, and sometimes I'd just order things to see what showed up.  With the exception of the time I got a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers in two straight rows, with a tiny pile of parsley at one end and a tiny pile of green onions at the other, I was pretty happy.  Actually, that was good, too! Who am I kidding?

Time to make my own!

In the US of A, it's hard to get tomatoes and cucumbers that are good. Our supermarket tomatoes are picked green and allowed to "ripen" on the way to the store, so are pretty tasteless. Our cucumbers here are huge and watery -- tasty, but not what I'm looking for. The Greek or Mediterranean market is where I get my produce, unless it's Saturday and I can hit the farmers' market.  As to the cheese, the feta from Trader Joe's is good stuff, but I can get Bulgarian cheese at the Mediterranean market or Alpine Village. To be authentic, you need sunflower seed oil, but I'll pass on that and go with olive oil instead.  Uh oh, I hope that doesn't change the name of the salad again.

Shopska Salad

or Village Salad, or Shepherd Salad, depending...

 

Ingredients
2 medium ripe tomatoes
3 persian cucumbers or 1-2 larger cucumbers
1 mild large chili or bell pepper
2 tbsp parsley
2 oz feta cheese

Optional
hard boiled eggs
olives
ham
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt

Directions
It's pretty obvious, but wash and cut up the veggies and parsley.  Toss and sprinkle with the crumbled feta. Serve with salt, oil, and vinegar on the side, but these are often ignored in Bulgaria.  Salads are simple, and the juices from the tomatoes tends to mix with a bit of the crumbled feta, so a dressing almost makes itself.

Optionally, add olives.  Or top with hard boiled eggs, making it a Village Salad.  Add some ham, and it's a Shepherd's Salad.  I'm sure there's yet another a name for it with with ham but no eggs, but whatever...

I've made a Bulgarian salad at least once a day since I got back, even hitting the Mediterranean grocery store on the way home from the airport. The salads are that good! ...or I miss Bulgaria.  ...or something back in Bulgaria.  Someone? There's always salad...

Road To Varna

Cute, but not Gal's car...

We road tripped all over Bulgaria, and things were never boring.  We stopped to visit family and friends, food and drink, and on the way, with the exception of almost being washed away in a freakish sideways rainstorm, I had the best time of my life.

The countryside is beautiful, from quaint little villages, classic bridges, and fields of sunflowers (or as they call them "sun lookers") that sometimes go as far as the eye can see.

One of the really cool things about the drive was seeing all the old cars.  They've got all the same new cars that we do in the USA, but the vintage rides are something else.

Rumor has it these are made from pressed cardboard!

A hitch?  The short, short trailer?

A Lada these on the roads!

Bizarro Veedub Bus

In the cities and towns, potholes might actually be on the maps, they stick around so long.  Sofia is so famous for potholes that they even play a part in advertising campaigns!

I actually never saw a pothole this shallow.  They were being kind...

In Sofia, and other cities and villages, there's not much in the way of organized parking.  The cities were built way back when, when cars weren't plentiful, and no one imagined that a city for 200,000 would ever hold 2,000,000 people!  As a result, sidewalks give way to cars, and people squeeze by.

The above picture actually shows a pretty civilized parking area,.  I didn't take pictures of cars parked in bushes, on curbs, double parked, and tucked behind dumpsters!  Amazing, but necessary when merging the old world with the new.

Between potholes and parking challenges, I'm surprised so many vintage cars survive!  Of course, there are trains, and in the cities, taxis are plentiful.  And, there's the subway, vintage 1960's awesome!

Isn't this is the coolest thing ever?

For the suburban Bulgarian who don't put up with shit, there's always this option!

Russian Amphibious Army Vehicle