Bristol Kettlebell club

If you can pick up 60kg and walk, anything physical you do in real life will be unbelievably easy.

When the regular side plank becomes easy - add a kettlebell!

The gladiator press will challenge your scapular and deep core stabilisers to another level !

The focus in our training sessions right now is strengthening the upper back.

Main exercises are:

Overhead carries
Get up/Windmill variation
All horizontal rowing variation
YTWL's
Deadlifts
Shrug variation

We're training the many stabilizers of the upper back as well as the major muscle groups.

The major benefits of this are to eliminate pain and weakness in the area which often shows up as neck pain or knots around the shoulder blade area, but also to boost over all strength.

A strong stable upper back is the base to push from, so all pushing execises become easier over time.

Also, who doesn't love a bit a of muscle definition on the back?

Our training consistently cycles through different focuses, all designed to build highly functioning strong people.

Wednesday 7pm is our try out session. If you'd like to come along and experience a properly coached strength training session, comment YES below or message me through the page.

Pete

PS - Pic is of James performing an over head carry, which strengthens the lower trapezius, rotator cuff, obliques and more.

An excellent exercise that demonstrates the simplicity of the kettlebell and how it always ticks more than one box.

Body transformation is easy once you've decided enough is enough.

Julie didn't follow a specific diet, she didn't take special supplements, she didn't starve herself.

She simply exercised regularly, ate 3 balanced meals per day, hydrated and slept well.

You know, the basics.

Then she did the most important thing

She did this consistently for one year.

5 stone - Gone !

This is your reminder, you CAN lose the weight, but you need to be motivated and that motivation will come from the pain or fear of staying where you are.

Julie had to lose the weight as it was a matter of health and happiness.

What a great job she did!

Shoulders feeling ropey but Turkish get ups aren’t having any impact? Add in YTWL’s!

The get up is phenomenal for many reasons, and it strengthens the entire shoulder girdle.

However, it’s isometric exercise and sometimes that’s not good enough to restore shoulder health. What you need is an exercise that takes the muscles through their full range of motion, get them pumped with blood for healing and to stimulate hypertrophy.

That’s what YTWL’s do.

Like every exercise there’s nuance in ex*****on so make sure you seek out good instruction to get the most from the movement.

This doesn’t replace TGU. It enhances your overall training experience.

Get after it!

The Gov's exercise recommendations V's 10 mins of KB swings

The government recommends either:

150 minutes of moderate cardio exercise
or
75 minutes of vigorous cardio

Plus 2 days per week of muscle strengthening activity.

For a lot of busy people, trying to find the time for that is almost impossible.

So what if you did this instead?

10 KB swings on the minute for ten minutes x 5 days per week

(50 mins of exercise per week)

The beauty of the kettlebell swing is that you'll not just train your cardio system, you'll also strengthen 80% of your muscles.

Yes you fall short in the cardio recommendations, but you make it up for it in the strength and muscle department, and in my eyes that makes it a better option.

It also lowers the bar for those who are really time poor.

Agree/Disagree?

I should probably become an MP or something... ;-)

No one training tool has all the answers, not even the kettlebell. So we add in the suspension trainer (TRX) and body weight exercise. That completes the picture. Come and get some strength in your life, Wednesday evenings 7-8pm is our try out session. DM or comment to book

Do you know the difference between a compound exercise and an isolation exercise?

A compound exercise is an exercise that involves more than one joint.

An isolation exercise is one that only acts on one joint.

Squats create movement at your hips, knees and ankles and to some degree your spine. That’s a compound exercise.

A bicep curl only moves your elbow joint. So it’s isolating the bicep.

A list of common compound exercises

Chin ups
Deadlifts
Lunges
Press ups
Bent over rows
Squats
Dips

These should be your bread and butter when it comes to putting together a training plan.

A list of common isolation exercises

Bicep curls
Skull crushers
Lateral raises
Calf raises

However, with most of these isolation movements, it is possible to move from a secondary joint, so adherence to form is crucial. For instance, when things get hard during curls and skull crushers, your shoulders might get involved. So you need to limit that. That’s where a good personal trainer can be invaluable, because you could be loading the exercise but not seeing any results if it’s not performed correctly.

Hope that helps.

In a future post I’ll discuss why and when you might choose a compound exercise over an isolation, and why you might do one before the other.

Have a great day!

PS - pic taken in Leigh wood’s yesterday. Cooling off under the tree cover.

Over emphasising shoulder strength and muscle development. 2 sets of 6-8 at each angle. Go from horizontal to vertical if you want to emphasise chest development.