I don't even want to drive up this dudes traffic on his website, but this got me so heated that I had to write something. To make matters worse, the comments section is full of people defending his article as fact. Its like a political argument and who's right and who's wrong.
Here is the article: http://skinnybulkup.com/kettlebells-are-inferior-to-dumbbells/#comment-47348
Please don't spend a lot of time on there, because if you do, and you know the value of kettlebells, your head might explode.
His first claim that no successful athletes owe their success to kettlbells is way off base. MMA fighters use KB's a lot, as do many areas of the military. The Russian Special Forces train almost exclusively with KB's. Soldier, Be Strong!, the official Soviet armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell drills to be "one of the most effective means of strength development."(http://tacticalathlete.com/qa_kettlebells_faq.php) Boom!! First hand account.
Of course Pro Bodybuilders don't owe their size to KB's. They do bodybuilding routines that focus on one major muscle group at a time. Really? You're gonna use that argument. I can do that too. A marathon runner doesn't owe their endurance to a body building routine. Duh!!! Different goals, different workouts, different training systems. Not one athlete has reached their peak exclusively through KB training? You could say that about anything. Not one athlete has reached their peak exclusively training with barbells either or dumbbells for that matter. There are so many training methods that go into making an athlete. A soccer player who needs speed and agility is not going to get on a hypertrophy program. They need conditioning and strength, but in a periodized program emphasizing one biological adaptation.
Besides that, how does the author KNOW that these athletes don't use kettlebells in their training? Has the author sat down and interviewed countless athletes at the height of physical and athletic perfection to see what training they do? I highly doubt it. He is making an assumption based on nothing.
I especially love the chart this author makes to prove his point in comparing KB and DB.
Grip Strength? Really? I wonder if you find Fat Gripz useless too seeing as how you find grip strength a hindrance. Fail!!!
Skill development leads to increased neurons in the brain therefore making one smarter as a result. Doing something because it takes time to develop a skill is a useless example of why not to do something. Golf is a skill sport, but I'm guessing we shouldn't do it because too much skill is involved. More flawed logic.
Lets keep going:
Repetitive stress injuries are rare with dumbbells? I would beg to differ as I have seen more tendonitis and tears through db training than i ever have with kettlbells. Lots of rotator cuff strains and tears and shoulder tendonitis through dumbbell chest presses or overhead presses or DB flys. Nope never seen that happen wtih KB's though cause ya know, KBs develop full body power, strength and endurance. Just a reminder, the body moves as one unit, not muscle by muscle, body part by body part.
Next: KB's are overpriced. WRONG they're about the same as DB's
Ah now my favorite. You cant use KBs to develop power..Hold on while I get this research article up. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22207261. "swing peak and mean power was greater than back squat power, and largely
comparable with jump squat power" or http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22580981. "results show that 6 weeks of biweekly KB training increase both maximum and explosive strength" Claim knocked down.
Where I realize this author has no clue is that its impossible to lock out a swing overhead. Swings aren't done overhead. They stop at shoulder height. He needed to research a kettlebell swing that is not a "crossfit swing" before analyzing it. That's just irresponsible writing and careless research.
Then he claims that "stretching of the shoulders, elbows and wrist joints is unnecessary and dangerous and that tendons and ligaments aren't made for that abuse." Really? Then what is the basis of stretching? And how do explain an Olympic power lifter doing cleans and snatches stretching out their shoulders and wrists? Have you seen the wrist position after a clean? Makes me think this guy has no basis in training at all, never the less taken any sort of kiniseology course.
This article is sure to influence people on never doing kettlebells because he lists "facts" that are just pure opinion. This article builds on the hype that kettlebells hurt peoples backs when there is evidence to say that it actually reduces back pain due to posterior shear forces on the spine(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21997449).
He tries to position himself to say KBs are all about hype when in fact all his ranting about how much they are overrated is hype itself.
I just cited 3 studies showing how kettlebells are useful. I'm going to post an entire site with about 15 research studies on it to further prove my point just because.
http://www.kettlebellscience.com/scientific-kettlebell-articles.html
If you intend on knocking something, do a little research first otherwise you look like a fool.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Are you really working out? or just patting your head and rubbing your stomach?
People claim to work out. They claim to go to the gym all the time. They even boast that they spend hours running, or cycling, or ellipticalling (is that even word, i think i just made it up). Or better yet, climbing stairs to nowhere, that's even better. However, what I see is a lot of peoples ability to walk or pedal, and watch TV or read all at the same time.
Sorry to break the news to all those people out there that think this is working out or exercise. Its is in no way shape or form working out. All that proves is your ability to "pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time."
Sorry to break the news to all those people out there that think this is working out or exercise. Its is in no way shape or form working out. All that proves is your ability to "pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time."
To really qualify as a workout, there needs to be some sort of intent, some sort of goal. You need to be working towards a physical adaptation and it needs to be somewhat strenuous. What are you trying to accomplish in your workout? Figure out who's sleeping with who in Hollywood? Walking on the treadmill, reading the latest issue US Weekly does not make a workout. What do you find strenuous about walking on the treadmill while holding on to the handrails? Really? You're gonna hold on while you walk? When in life do you walk while holding onto something unless you're on crutches, have a cane, or a walker. No, during "natural," "normal" movement, the arms swing in a contralateral fashion, or left leg steps out, right arm swings with it.
I know I'm picking on the treadmill, but its the most commonly used machine in a gym and where I see a lot of problems. The main focus of a majority of gym goers is not their workout, it's catching up on a book, or watching the news, or whatever other crap happens to be on the television. And you see these same people day after day, week after week, and after a year they look the same if not worse. Why is that? Because their focus isn't on the task at hand. 100% focus should be on your workout, on creating some sort of biological response. That's how you reach your goals. Too many people see the gym and especially the "cardio deck" as something to do while they entertain themselves. They figure if I'm gonna watch TV anyway, might as well move. Yea, that's not a workout. That's walking and chewing gum at the same time. Congrats on doing two things at once. But don't brag about your "workout."
Next time you're at the gym, do yourself a favor, leave the book or magazine at home, ignore the TV overhead(or newer machines have TVs on them) and put 100% focus into your workout. You'd be amazed at your results.
That's my cardio rant. Stay tuned for a little rant on how people resistance train.
I know I'm picking on the treadmill, but its the most commonly used machine in a gym and where I see a lot of problems. The main focus of a majority of gym goers is not their workout, it's catching up on a book, or watching the news, or whatever other crap happens to be on the television. And you see these same people day after day, week after week, and after a year they look the same if not worse. Why is that? Because their focus isn't on the task at hand. 100% focus should be on your workout, on creating some sort of biological response. That's how you reach your goals. Too many people see the gym and especially the "cardio deck" as something to do while they entertain themselves. They figure if I'm gonna watch TV anyway, might as well move. Yea, that's not a workout. That's walking and chewing gum at the same time. Congrats on doing two things at once. But don't brag about your "workout."
Next time you're at the gym, do yourself a favor, leave the book or magazine at home, ignore the TV overhead(or newer machines have TVs on them) and put 100% focus into your workout. You'd be amazed at your results.
That's my cardio rant. Stay tuned for a little rant on how people resistance train.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Pick things up, Put them down!!
If more people picked heavy crap up, and then put it down, we'd have a healthier society. Instead we have all this selectorized equipment for isolating each muscle group. Guess what!! Thats not how the body moves. The body moves in a series of contractions of multiple major muscle groups and smaller, stabilizing muscle groups.
Seriously go out and lift heavy crap up, put it down, and repeat. That is your exercise prescription.
Seriously go out and lift heavy crap up, put it down, and repeat. That is your exercise prescription.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
"Core Training"
Here is a term that is grossly overused in the fitness industry; 'core training." In most peoples opinions, this usually revolves around some sort of abdominal exercise such as sit-ups or crunches. Great, you can do all the sit-ups and crunches you want, that still may not lead you to have a strong core. What you fail to realize that your "core" is made up of muscles from the shoulders down to the knees and in a 360 degree rotation. So not only are the abdominals core muscles, but it ranges to all the muscles in the back, especially the "lats," the hips, and pelvis.
As many of my clients know, I rarely do any spinal flexion exercises like sit-up or crunches, because its more important for the lumbar spine to have stability and not mobility. Now in certain situations, there will be exercises that involve some spinal flexion, but in my sessions, I think training for stability is more important. Spinal flexion is, and has been a highly debated topic among trainers and everyone has an opinion about it one way or another, but this post isn't here to debate that issue. I'm here to discuss core training and what it really means, and maybe give some great tips to improve your "core" strength.
The best core exercises are the ones in which you are required to stabilize your body, with the most common example being a plank. In a standard plank you are hovering over the ground with your elbows and feet as the two points of contact with the ground. The elbows are also directly under the shoulders and hands are shoulder width apart(this will keep your lats engaged throughout the exercise). From this position, you are contracting the quads and glutes as hard as you can to keep the back stable and flat. This will work the entire core, all the way around and specifically the transversus abdominus(TVA) or the "corset muscle."
When this exercise gets to easy its time to add some instability or movement to increase its "functionality" You want to be able to teach your core muscles to fire through movement, this way when you pick up a box from the floor, the muscles instinctively fire to protect your back. For example, holding that same plank but alternating lifting a leg and/or an arm, or even walking laterally on the forearms and toes.
As for the posterior part of the body, exercises like a superman, in which you lay on your stomach and lift the arms and legs, help strengthen the back extensors and glutes(posterior chain). Simply changing the distance in which you extend your arms can greatly increase or decrease the intensity of the exercise. The further the arms are out, the harder and the closer they are to the body, the easier the exercise is. This is a simple physics 101 concept of lever arms. Another great way to strengthen the glutes(which are most definitely part of the core) is by doing hip bridges. In this exercise you keep the knees bent, feet on the ground, engage the glutes by contracting them(which will pull you into a pelvic tilt) and then lifting the hips off the ground. This has become a great exercise to help strengthen the lower back as well. Strong glutes = strong back. Add in a stability or medicine ball for an even greater challenge.
Another great way to stabilize is doing an exercise called an Anti-Rotation with an exercise band. Basically you have a band attached to a steady base like a pole and you hold the opposite end out in front of you perpendicular to the pole. You are trying to engage the same musculature as the plank, but you are also firing the hip stabilizers and the obliques. In my experience with my clients, this exercise ALWAYS appears too easy and too simple to be effective, but as soon as they are in position, the immediate reaction is "oh crap this is way harder than I thought."
Now take this stabilizing exercise and just like the plank, we'll add movement to it. So one big example that trips people up is simple lateral walks while keeps the hands in front of the chest. It requires a great deal of core strength along with some coordination and balance.
Which brings me to my final point about core training. When you properly engage and strengthen your core through the right exercises, your balance will improve tremendously. This is because all the little stabilizing muscles throughout the hip and trunk are strong enough to support balancing on one leg or even as simple as firing and activating correctly when you walk. In our specific training, we use ViPR's to relearn how to move again in all planes of motion or do exercises with a single leg which requires a lot of stabilization through the hip and ankle. A great example of a balance/core exercise is taken from yoga in the form of bird-dog. In this pose, you start in a quadruped position(hands and knees) and lift one arm and the opposite leg making sure the abdominals and glutes are engaged and that the back is in a neutral spine. I try to make my clients hold this pose for at least 20 seconds if not longer. Once you're comfortable with the balance on this pose, we can add a lot of other things like some sort of movement as with the anti-rotation and the plank. For instance bringing one's elbow and knee together will add a greater challenge than the standard pose.
Now these are just the basics for core exercises. When you train correctly, your core should be engaged on everything you do. This is where we bring in certain tools to force the body to compensate and engage to stabilize the body. So using a ViPR and doing a lunge with a shift or a chop will force the body to compensate in a certain way. This is something we try to emphasize through training.
In summary, the term "core training" has totally missed the mark in recent years. Even group "core" exercise classes have popped up and its nothing but crunches, crunches and more crunches. Crunches in every variation. Legs up, legs down, one leg, legs crossed, knees to the side. How many different types of crunches can one person do before they get bored or wake up one day and see that their body hasn't gotten any different or that their core hasn't gotten any stronger. Or even worse, they wake up with a back injury because of their constant crunching. I think its also partly the fault of all the information out there in magazines and on the internet. As a trainer I try to take the responsibility to educate my clients that there is more to the core than just abdominal exercises like crunches/sit-ups.
As many of my clients know, I rarely do any spinal flexion exercises like sit-up or crunches, because its more important for the lumbar spine to have stability and not mobility. Now in certain situations, there will be exercises that involve some spinal flexion, but in my sessions, I think training for stability is more important. Spinal flexion is, and has been a highly debated topic among trainers and everyone has an opinion about it one way or another, but this post isn't here to debate that issue. I'm here to discuss core training and what it really means, and maybe give some great tips to improve your "core" strength.
The best core exercises are the ones in which you are required to stabilize your body, with the most common example being a plank. In a standard plank you are hovering over the ground with your elbows and feet as the two points of contact with the ground. The elbows are also directly under the shoulders and hands are shoulder width apart(this will keep your lats engaged throughout the exercise). From this position, you are contracting the quads and glutes as hard as you can to keep the back stable and flat. This will work the entire core, all the way around and specifically the transversus abdominus(TVA) or the "corset muscle."
When this exercise gets to easy its time to add some instability or movement to increase its "functionality" You want to be able to teach your core muscles to fire through movement, this way when you pick up a box from the floor, the muscles instinctively fire to protect your back. For example, holding that same plank but alternating lifting a leg and/or an arm, or even walking laterally on the forearms and toes.
As for the posterior part of the body, exercises like a superman, in which you lay on your stomach and lift the arms and legs, help strengthen the back extensors and glutes(posterior chain). Simply changing the distance in which you extend your arms can greatly increase or decrease the intensity of the exercise. The further the arms are out, the harder and the closer they are to the body, the easier the exercise is. This is a simple physics 101 concept of lever arms. Another great way to strengthen the glutes(which are most definitely part of the core) is by doing hip bridges. In this exercise you keep the knees bent, feet on the ground, engage the glutes by contracting them(which will pull you into a pelvic tilt) and then lifting the hips off the ground. This has become a great exercise to help strengthen the lower back as well. Strong glutes = strong back. Add in a stability or medicine ball for an even greater challenge.
Another great way to stabilize is doing an exercise called an Anti-Rotation with an exercise band. Basically you have a band attached to a steady base like a pole and you hold the opposite end out in front of you perpendicular to the pole. You are trying to engage the same musculature as the plank, but you are also firing the hip stabilizers and the obliques. In my experience with my clients, this exercise ALWAYS appears too easy and too simple to be effective, but as soon as they are in position, the immediate reaction is "oh crap this is way harder than I thought."
Now take this stabilizing exercise and just like the plank, we'll add movement to it. So one big example that trips people up is simple lateral walks while keeps the hands in front of the chest. It requires a great deal of core strength along with some coordination and balance.
Which brings me to my final point about core training. When you properly engage and strengthen your core through the right exercises, your balance will improve tremendously. This is because all the little stabilizing muscles throughout the hip and trunk are strong enough to support balancing on one leg or even as simple as firing and activating correctly when you walk. In our specific training, we use ViPR's to relearn how to move again in all planes of motion or do exercises with a single leg which requires a lot of stabilization through the hip and ankle. A great example of a balance/core exercise is taken from yoga in the form of bird-dog. In this pose, you start in a quadruped position(hands and knees) and lift one arm and the opposite leg making sure the abdominals and glutes are engaged and that the back is in a neutral spine. I try to make my clients hold this pose for at least 20 seconds if not longer. Once you're comfortable with the balance on this pose, we can add a lot of other things like some sort of movement as with the anti-rotation and the plank. For instance bringing one's elbow and knee together will add a greater challenge than the standard pose.
Now these are just the basics for core exercises. When you train correctly, your core should be engaged on everything you do. This is where we bring in certain tools to force the body to compensate and engage to stabilize the body. So using a ViPR and doing a lunge with a shift or a chop will force the body to compensate in a certain way. This is something we try to emphasize through training.
In summary, the term "core training" has totally missed the mark in recent years. Even group "core" exercise classes have popped up and its nothing but crunches, crunches and more crunches. Crunches in every variation. Legs up, legs down, one leg, legs crossed, knees to the side. How many different types of crunches can one person do before they get bored or wake up one day and see that their body hasn't gotten any different or that their core hasn't gotten any stronger. Or even worse, they wake up with a back injury because of their constant crunching. I think its also partly the fault of all the information out there in magazines and on the internet. As a trainer I try to take the responsibility to educate my clients that there is more to the core than just abdominal exercises like crunches/sit-ups.
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