Recent research performed at three prestigious academic facilities sheds light on the virtues of resistance training to optimize cardiac health. Research completed at Harvard University, the Michigan Technological Institute (MTI) and the University of Western Australia may give weight lifting a whole new image. In the Harvard study, over 44 000 US men were checked at two year intervals between 1986 and 1998 to assess potential heart disease factors, health status and activity levels. The Harvard scientists found that men who jogged regularly each week showed a 42% reduction in risk for heart disease. However, the men who trained with weights only once a week showed a 23% risk reduction. These results suggest that training with weighs maybe more efficient a providing protection against heart disease. The research performed by MTI scientists revealed the effectiveness of resistance training to normalize high blood pressure. After eight weeks of weight training, a group of healthy volunteers showed a significant decrease in resting blood pressure (130/69 to 121/61). These results add weight to the growing amount of evidence that suggests weight training “normalizes” a person’s blood pressure. Australian researchers have recently showed that resistance training is an effective form of rehabilitation for heart [...]

What are they good for? What aren’t they good for?!  Kettlebell swings enable you to train power, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory fitness and mobility all in one hit. One of the great advantages of the kettlebell swing is that it can be used to develop strength and power in the posterior chain muscles (hamstrings, glutes and back).  For those of us who have desk jobs, the posterior chain spends a lot of time wasting away in the seated position, which often leads to poor posture and back pain.  And for many athletes the posterior chain is what powers their desired movements – running, kicking, jumping, striking, serving etc.  So developing strength and power in the posterior chain is going to benefit pretty much anyone. Importantly, the kettlebell swing can also be used to develop muscular endurance in those all-important posterior chain muscles.  If you’re sitting for long periods you will require endurance in your back to combat slouching.  For many athletes, being able to repeatedly and consistently generate power via the posterior chain over a period of time is crucial, and this is exactly what the kettlebell swing teaches the body to do. Kettlebell swings can also improve hamstring and hip [...]

In April I attended a kettlebell training camp with Valery Fedorenko and Ivan Denisov.  I learnt some fantastic tips from these lifters, both of whom have set incredible records and are among the greatest kettlebell lifters of all time. Denisov is the absolute world record holder for 32kg jerks, a title that is borne of a great deal of hard work and painstaking efforts to perfect technique.  Watching Denisov lifting is truly incredible, and he does what all great athletes do – he makes it look easy. I put together a short video on the things I learnt from Denisov for the people I coach online, but thought it was worth sharing as anyone who does kettlebell jerk (for whatever reason, whether it be for heavy lifting or for high rep work). These small tweaks in technique can make a huge difference and are invaluable for those who really want to nail the kettlebell jerk.

Valery Fedorenko is certainly amongst the best kettlebell sport athletes of all time, and given the breadth of his achievements (from being ranked Honoured Master of Sport to holding the world record for 60kg jerks), is is one of the best kettlebell lifters of all time. Fedorenko lifting a 226lb dumbbell at the Arnold this year On the 18th March Fedorenko did a whopping 302 snatches with the 32kg kettlebell, with just one hand change – a set that took around 20 minutes.  What’s more, he made it look easy: barely broke a sweat and the last rep looked the same as the first rep. Fedorenko’s attention to detail, his flawless timing, relaxed breathing, ability to rest overhead and even pacing combined with an inhuman work capacity have enabled him to perform such an impressive set. The full set  can be seen in the video below, and it’s worth listening to what he has to say at the start because he’s a funny guy.

This is for all the personal trainers out there. Group training is one of the most time efficient and profitable ways to earn a living as a personal trainer.  If you can get decent sized groups together you will usually earn much more per hour than you would with one on one clients, and groups clients are often easier to retain for a couple of reasons: groups offer socialisation for clients, which is an added incentive to train, and with the lower session price per individual it’s more affordable. I personally think that group sessions are easier to run too and not as emotionally taxing as some one on one sessions can be.  I’m sure all of you have had those clients where the conversation is a bit forced and you just don’t seem to “click” – those sessions can drag on.  The dynamics of a group environment are often more fun and stimulating. Below is a selection of equipment that is really well suited to group training. Kettlebells In my opinion, kettlebells are probably the best group training equipment around for the following reasons: With just one weight per person and very little space you can get full body [...]

Honestly, it’s scary how much crappy kettlebell information is out there.  YouTube is littered with it, hundreds of people telling us they’re kettlebell experts and their system is the best.  More often than not, these people are just making stuff up – literally. These cowboys are tarnishing the world of kettlebell training and giving kettlebells a bad name.  There are plenty of physios out there who think the kettlebell is the best thing in the world, because it’s making them rich – a training tool is only as good as the instructor who teaches it, and unfortunately the majority of kettlebell instruction out there is pretty shoddy. In fact, it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a bit of a joke… This is just getting a little bit ridiculous and I really can’t see how this carries over to either everyday life or any sort of athletic pursuit.  If you want to do something fun and creative with kettlebells that will actually have a beneficial effect, try juggling. And really, what on earth is the point of using a 4lb kettlebell?! This is without doubt a gimmick. This just makes me want to gouge my own eyes out. Oh [...]

Valery Fedorenko, Honoured Master of Sport and revered kettlebell sport athlete, has recently, single handedly flipped a 72kg kettlebell. To put this into perspective, the heaviest kettlebell in existence in Australia is 64kg and there is probably only a handful of people who could manage to swing it with one hand – swinging it, letting go of it while it rotates in the air and then catching it mid flight is an unimaginable feat of strength, power, coordination and balls. So Fedorenko flipping the 72kg flawlessly is mind boggling.  Towards the end there is some super slow motion footage that shows how much power and skill is involved in this feat. Kettlebell Juggling While flipping the 72kg is out of the question for the vast majority of us, kettlebell juggling is something that pretty much anyone can do. Kettlebell juggling is heaps of fun and provides some significant training benefits: Trains hand/eye coordination and agility. Trains joints through several different planes of movement (something that is often missing in people’s training) so builds stonger, healthier more mobile joints. Provides a mixture of cardiorespiratory, strength, power and endurance training. Develops stong connective tissue particularly in the wrists, elbows and shoulders (areas [...]

Knowing the Difference Between Pushing it and Pushing it too Far The old saying about “no pain, no gain” may have some truth in it when it comes to getting results with training, but there’s pain and then there’s pain. Serious discomfort is something that must be suffered at least every now and again to really reap the fruits of your training labour, however there is a big difference between being so uncomfortable that you’d do just about anything to stop and causing yourself injury or illness through training. The latter is something that should be avoided at all costs, and it’s something that athletes strive to minimise the risk of in their training because injury and illness equal time off training, which equals decreased performance overall. An injury in training can mean the difference between competing and being a champion and not even making it to the comp. BS in the Media Leading us Astray Unfortunately, shows like The Biggest Loser have perpetuated this idea that you need to push yourself to your absolute limits in order to be seen as “hard” and to get superhuman results. This is part of the reason half of the contestants on the [...]

The 12kg Classic Female Intermediate Pack is designed for women who have a good base of strength training under their belt, with either kettlebells or traditional weight training, and are ready for a challenge.  This is definitely not a pack for those just starting out with weight training. Why Get an Intermediate Pack? As mentioned above, this pack is ideal for women who have a background in weight training and are looking for a challenge with kettlebell training.  This includes women who may have spent some time using an 8kg or 10kg kettlebell.  The pack includes the 12kg kettlebell and an instructional DVD to get you going. Unlike a lot of other home gym equipment, the kettlebell is not a fad – it has been around for decades and is used by everyone from celebrities through to elite athletes and the military (you won’t see the latter using one of those silly ab machines!). The kettlebell gives you a full body workout and can provide both cardio and resistance training so it’s all you need – I personally only train with kettlebells because they get the job done without any fuss and in a short space of time. What’s on the DVD? We found that [...]

The Classic Female Starter Pack has everything you need to get started with your kettlebell training and enables progressions that will keep your training, and your results, improving for a long time. Why the Classic Starter Pack? A Classic Starter Set is the perfect way to start your kettlebell training and ensure that you’re doing it safely and effectively. The starter set is basically a home gym in one small, neat package. This set comes with an 8kg and 12kg kettlebell.  Having two weights to choose from means that you can you can use the lighter weight for the exercises where it’s harder to move the weight (typically overhead lifts) and use the heavier weight for those exercises that enable the weight to be moved more easily (such a two arm swings).  Having a heavier weight also gives you the option to increase the weight you’re lifting in a particular exercise and this allows you to progress, which is essential if you want to continue to get results from your training. Unlike a lot of other home gym equipment, the kettlebell is not a fad – it has been around for decades and is used by everyone from celebrities through [...]