Category Archives: Flexibility

How to EASILY Do A Rock Bottom One Legged Squat, or “Pistol”

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By Sean Schniederjan RKC

I want to share with you a simple strategy for nailing a one legged squat, whether by you or one of your clients or students.

I first used Pavel’s Naked Warrior to do pistols.  Pavel breaks down the strength aspect, has a power breathing lesson worth its weight in gold, and shows some progressions.  Convict Conditioning gives you even more progressions for working up to the one legged squat.

They both work, but for me it wasn’t consistent until I learned to look at the pistol as not just a show of strength, but a show of mobility, caused by an improvement of flexibility.

Here I want to show you the equation for understanding how to master getting the mobility and strength to do an easy weighted or unweighted one legged squat.

Mobility (Flexibility) + Strength = Pistol

If you have this down, then pistols will no longer be a struggle or a mystery, they will be EASY.

This not only will get you pistoling, but Master RKC Andrea Du Cane teaches that these three elements, mobility, flexibility, and strength are the “Three Pillars” of the Ageless Body.

I see a lot of people who are halfway there, they can do pistols on some days, not on others.  They can do them, but they look kind of contorted.  The balance and mobility just isn’t there.  They bend forward too much or just fall over when they’re in the bottom position.

This will help deepen your understanding and give you the tools so that you can nail a pistol ANYTIME and ANYWHERE, be it in a workout or when you have to get up and use the restroom in the middle of the night.

If you are going to do pistols, you need to OWN them.

Pistol Vs. Aging

For me, this picture sums up why you should learn the excellence in strength, mobility and balance of the one legged squat.  At almost 67 years young, Dr. John shows you why this moves makes you practically age proof.  Not many 20 year olds can do this.  I remember a Master Instructor saying he had to teach NFLers how to do it, because at first they couldn’t.

While Others Are Aging, Dr. John is Doing Pistols

So if you don’t know the inner working of the pistol, it will be very difficult, if not impossible.

So I’ll show you a few secrets I’ve discovered and learned from others that you can practice and over a few weeks to a month will have you pistoling.

Talk to your doc before undertaking any new exercise program.  Pistols are not for everyone.

Secret #1: Flexible Hamstrings

You have to have flexible hips to do a pistol.  How do you get flexible hips? Its easy:

Flexible Hamstrings + Flexible/Strong Hip Flexors = Flexible Hips

So what’s the best exercise from going from creaky stale hamstrings to long and strong?  IMO its the passive straight leg raise.  I won’t go into the subtleties here, but this pic shows what your core and resting leg have to do to get an effective stretch:

Core and opposite leg stay down

Its called the passive straight leg to distinguish it from the active straight leg raise (PSLR and ASLR).  In the former, someone or something raises the leg, the latter you raise the leg yourself without assistance.

I like to train alone so I just use a belt or a band to pull the leg back rather than having someone push.  If you have really poor flexibility in this area, this will hurt, a lot, when you start.  Pain is good, so just work through it and come out a stronger person.  When your stretching leg is about perpendicular to the ground without bowing other parts of your body (ie bringing up your opposite leg or core), you have good flexibility in that area for pistols.

PSLRs will drastically improve your hip mobility, which not only will help with pistols but also loading the hips for kettlebell ballistics moves like swings and snatches and cleans.

You can’t do a Hardstyle Swing (sign up for the free report on the top right.  It contains a lesson on the Hardstyle Swing from Master RKC Andrea Du Cane) unless you’ve worked through tight hamstrings.

Secret Number 2: Flexible and/or Strong Hip Flexors

We all know about how awesome the RKC hip flexor stretch is and how its the number one tool for back pain.  So you should being the “Ageless” Hip Flexor stretch by now.  Stretching your HFs make it easier to squat.  In fact, Andrea teaches to do this stretch before squatting in your workouts (especially if you sit a lot).

In addition to stretching the HFs, you have to strengthen them to get deep down into a close stance squat or pistol, especially a bodyweight pistol.  Strong hip flexors enable you to actively pull yourself down into the squat.  Strong tibia muscles around the shin also contribute by flexing and supporting the ankle, which will be addressed below.

Here are a few ways to strengthen the hip flexors:

Inverted Squats

Being Upside Down is Fun, And Will Get You Pistoling Fast

A few quick points on inversion.  It is very uncomfortable at first because it is so unnatural.  But after a few sessions you get used to it.

In the picture above, note how there are two ropes hanging from each side of the man.  You really have to have something to grab onto on the side for assistance, both for security and also to use for the squatting itself.  Using some assistance for inverted squatting reduces the weight you’re pulling and is therefore is easier for beginners.  I use a TAPS unit that comes off the ground and so use the side bars to hold onto for security and assistance in squatting.  I wouldn’t recommend inversion without something to hold onto on the side.

There are several advantages to owning a pair of gravity boots and a pull up bar.  What I’ll focus on here is how they’ll help you do a pistol.  So find a way to safely get upside and pull yourself up like you are doing a squat.  Note the feeling in your hip flexor muscles. It feels really good.  You are overcoming almost half of your bodyweight on each leg to pull yourself up.  Strengthening your HFs in this way will make your squatting back on planet earth much easier, especially close stance squatting (squatting on two legs with your feet so close together they touch or come close to touching) that requires more hip and ankle mobility.

I couldn’t do a close stance squat at the first bodyweight workshop I produced with Pavel.  The next year we did them and I was getting compliments on my mobility.  The reason was I started doing inverted squats.

Secret Number 3: Ankle Mobility/Strength

Inverted squats will make your ankles more mobile.  How? Because when you are inverted, your whole bodyweight is supported by your feet.  And when you pull yourself up, the tibia muscles around the shin fire because it is an anterior strength exercise.  When your tibia muscles get stronger, it is easier to dorsiflex your ankles (the tibia are responsible for lifting the ankles up, or dorsiflexing them), a necessity for doing pistols where there is a bend not only at the hips and knees, but also the ankles. Note the ankle of Dr. John’s ankle in the picture of the pistol, above.

So doing inverted squats not only helps with hip mobility through strengthening the hip flexors, it also gives you strong, mobile ankles by strengthening the tibia.  And when your tibia is strong, you can have people kick you in the shins and the extra muscles will protect you.

If you don’t have gravity Boots and Don’t Feel Like Going Back to the 80s

There’s a partner drill that has a similar effect.  Its not as good, but it does work.  I couldn’t find a good pic, but imagine the person laying down’s knees are bent:

Bend the Knees and Have Someone Pull...See how your HFs feel

Another thing you can to stretch the hip flexors and strengthen the tibia for ankle mobility and strength is loop a kettlebell around your foot and pull it up. The downside is that it is unilateral, but it works.

Mobility for the Pistol

You don’t need to do a pistol to demonstrate you have the mobility needed to do a pistol.  Do something easier: the close stance squat. Once you can put both your feet together and go all the way down and come all the way up, then you have the mobility to do a pistol. Using these techniques to lengthen your hamstrings and strengthen your hip flexors and strengthening your tibia will get you to a close stance squat quickly.

The Other Thing: Strength

OK, so you have the mobility to descend into the bottom of a pistol.  But that won’t do much getting back up, because in order do pop “out of the hole” you need strong legs.

I like the idea of improving the conditions for developing the leg strength to do a pistol.  When you are learning to pistol, that bottom position is not comfortable.  So if you are trying to get strong in that position, you are worrying about keeping your balance and mobility on top of the strength work.  Its too much to juggle in your mind.  Turning to front squats removes the difficult mobility and balance conditions so that you can keep your focus on strengthening your legs.

If you can overcome the resistance of two heavy kettlebells pushing down on you, then you can overcome the resistance of your bodyweight using only one leg.

And what is the best exercise for strong legs?  I believe that would go to the kettlebell front squat.  In Return of the Kettlebell Pavel mentions that 1000 pound squatter Donnie Thompson uses two 88 pound bells for 3×8 and that is “all he needs.”  So that means if I can use two 70 pound kettlebells to do the same, then there’s nothing to worry about.  For you, it doesn’t have to be 70 pound bells, but it has to be heavy enough to be difficult and therefore to make you stronger.  Use bells you can double front squat between 5 and 10 times.

Master RKC Brett Jones doing a double KB Front Squat

If you don’t know how to front squat, visit an RKC or read Return of the Kettlebell.  There’s a chapter called “How to Squat Like a Pro in 29 Minutes or Less” that will do just that.

Programming All This

Dan John says “programming is reps.”  So do reps.  You can either do too few, too many, or the right amount.  So if you don’t do anything, you won’t get results.  If you kill yourself doing too much, then you won’t get results. So just do the right amount and don’t worry about the numbers so much. Enjoy the process of getting more flexible and stronger.

Try doing the stretches three or four times a week for about 5 minutes or so.  For the front squats, do a few days a week, a light day and a heavy day. Work up to 5×5 and then 5×10 on the heavy day.  If you can do 5×10 with two bells, you can move up to heavier bells.

1.)  If you found this helpful or if use this to do a pistol, please let me know by leaving a comment.

2.)  If you like anti aging kettlebell information, please click on the 15 page free report on the top right and join our community.

 

Ageless Body Book Review

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By Sean

The Ageless Body eBook

If you you want explanations and big pictures of Andrea guiding you through key joint mobility, muscle flexibity and bodyweight and kettlebell strength and conditioning moves and a full 6 week “ramp up” and full strength and conditioning program right now, then you will find this information helpful.

Andrea has been a Senior/Master level instructor in the RKC for almost 10 years.  She’s CK-FMS, Z-Health and Pilates certified. Few trainers posses such a vast “tool box” of exercises and practical teaching ability and range that Andrea has.

The Ageless Body is a set of how to material, equipped with giant pictures, on joint mobility, flexibility and strength and conditioning movements plus a charted section on programming that shows you how to plug them in to your day to day existence.

One of the little perks of producing the Ageless Body Workshop with Andrea was that I got a sneak peak of this book early this summer and have been using it frequently as a resource for this project and my own practice.

Two Parts to this Review

For this review, I want to share the chapter breakdown with some brief commentary to give you an overview of the contents, plus fill it in with a few stories from the Ageless Body Workshop.

Lastly I’ll mention who I think it is for and who it isn’t for.

Chapter Breakdown of the Book

Chapter 1: Intro/How to Use the Book

Chapter 2: Medical Disclaimer

Chapter 3: Kettlebell Safety

Chapter 4: Prep Drills

- How to get a nuetral pelvis and spine

- Proper hip hinge

- Hip hinge strategies for different levels

- Hip flexor stretch for different levels

- T-spine rotation for different levels.

Chapter 5: Warm Up (Complete Joint Mobility Program that mobilizes the major and minor joints of the body in one to several different ways, depending on the joint).

Chapter 6: Main Kettlebell Exercises

- Deadlift for different levels and varieties, single and two legged, with trouble shooting,

- Varieties of kettlebell carries

- Varying degrees of the plank

- Kettlebell Swing,

- 4 Variations on the Kettlebell press,

- Progressions for goblet squat

- Different level variations for the Russian twist for spinal rotation and abdominal strength.

Chapter 7: The Get Up – Pictures and descriptions and break down for each part of the movement.

Chapter 8: Balance Drills – We don’t want any falls.  These are the drills Andrea teaches to keep your sense of balance.

Chapter 9: Cool Down Stretches (Andrea is a flexibility expert.  These are her 7 fundamental “go to” stretches)

-Hip Flexor Stretch

-Half Pigeon (Figure 4), Variations

-Quad Stretches, Variations

-Hamstring Stretch, Variations

-Runner’s Stretch

-More T-Spine Rotation

-Down Dog

Chapter 10: Advanced Kettlebell Exercises

-Clean

-Double Swing

-Double Clean

-Double Press

-Front Squat

-Goblet Squat with Curl

-Goblet Squat with front raise

-Snatch

Chapter 11: Planning Your Workouts

Chapter 12: Six Week Ramp Up & Six Week Program

Chapter 13: Strength Workout (6 Rounds)

Chapter 14: Cardio Workout (6 Rounds)

You can see that this is a comprehensive product.

Overview

The first 10 chapters show you how to do the moves (light descriptions + pictures), and chapters 11-14 show you how to plug them into to a weekly routine.

Andrea teaches to do prep drills and joint mobility before even touching a kettlebell.  Pavel teaches the same in Enter the Kettlebell!  Nothing new, it is a more effective way of getting the most of out of your kettlebell practice. Ageless Body gives you a full joint mobility program with movements from Pavel’s Super Joints, CK-FMS and Z-Health and and tips for neutralizing pelvis and spine to give a foundation for safe lifting.

The breakdown of main kettlebell exercises vs. advanced is very important for learning kettlebells the right way.

If you own the main exercises, the more advanced ones will be a lot easier.  Respect the order and perfect the beginner moves.

Andrea discusses this in this podcast.

Andrea breaks down all the exercises, like she does in the Kettlebell Boomer DVD to fit the level of the raw beginner/de-conditioned (unloaded hip hinge – no kettlebell) to more advanced (double kettlebell deadlift) to use an example for Andrea’s deadlift progression.  So you are sure to find the appropriate level for your practice.

Who Is This For?

The Ageless Body is ideal for beginners. Dan John, Masters Weightlifting Champ, author of Easy Strength, and Senior RKC says that he uses this program, which throws a slight wrench to the theory that this is only for beginners.  Coach says “this program makes me do what I know I need.” That should give any seasoned kettlebell practitioner serious pause.

If you’ve been doing kettlebells (or any strength program) for a long time and don’t do much flexibility or mobility training and you are getting stiff and achy, this will help you.  If you are into sports and are developing dysfunctional joints, this information will help.

At the Ageless Body workshop, we had two martial artists who were interested in kettlebells, but had hip and shoulder dysfunctions, respectively, that prohibited them from taking their KB practice where they wanted. Using many of the tools featured in this book, Andrea helped these gentlemen regain function in their hips and shoulders which cleared the way for a more productive kettlebell practice.

At the same time, I saw Andrea use these tools to teach kettlebells effectively to older trainees.

How does the same material help both tough as nails martial artists and your grandmother?  Because it starts at the beginning and doesn’t leave anything out.

I think RKCs and HKCs will benefit from this book because it gives a template for bringing de-conditioned clients back to strength and conditioning while (likely) teaching some new or perhaps neglected tools along the way.  It never hurts to hear a reminder on what works.  There were two attendees at the workshop who signed up because they thought this information would help them intelligently train for taking the RKC.  RKCs showed up to learn the tools to bring kettlebells to Boomer aged clients.

Who is this book NOT for?  

More advanced athletes who have a handle on their aches and pains and people looking for a lot of analysis in the subjects covered.  This it not a theoretical book, at all.  It is a “do this” book. People who already know how to program kettlebell workouts, flexibility and joint mobility and have a sizable tool box of Andrea’s “Three Pillars” of Strength, Flexibility and Mobility won’t need it.

Get Your Ageless Body Hardcover Book HERE

Get Your Ageless Body E-Book HERE

Convict Conditioning 2 Review

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By Sean Schniederjan RKC

I want to make an odd recommendation.  Yesterday I bought the sequel to a book I own.  Just like the first one, I read it cover to cover in one sitting (they’re both around 300 pages).

If you look at only appearances, a book called “Convict Conditioning” would have little to do with “The Ageless Body.”

But if you look at content, there is a substantial amount of overlap.

The author is Paul Wade, a man who has spent a considerable amount of his younger years in various California prisons.  He is obsessed with physical excellence and used his time to pick up information on transforming physiques for “survival strength.”

Survival in prison is different from the outside world, but the overall intent is the same: we need above average strength in order to survive and to carry our bodies into our older years.

The sequel has more than one anecdote about people using Coach Wade’s methods to rehab serious injuries and he tells of some old time hard men who were extremely strong and impressive looking into their golden years.

This material is ordered to longevity.

Because of his experiences, Wade prefers bodyweight training to lifting, kettlebells included.  He makes a pretty strong case in both books.  I will never give up my kettlebells though, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t and won’t put into practice Wade’s methods.

Bodyweight training is entrenched into the RKC.  Strength is strength.  Understanding key bodyweight concepts translates to stronger kettlebelling.  Andrea taught this over the weekend and Pavel teaches it at every RKC.

The first Convict Conditioning book is about progressing into Wade’s “Big Six” bodyweight exercises: Squats, Pushups, Leg Raises, Bridging, Pull Ups, and Handstand Pushups.  These are big, compound movements that utilize our biggest muscles.  No matter what your level, there is something in there for you.  The progressions start off super easy, ie wall pushups and standing vertical pull ups.  Wade makes the argument that these easier moves, if performed with the right form, have a healing effect on our joints and bodies. He goes more into this theme in the sequel.

Convict Conditioning 2 delves into Wade’s theories on joint health and flexibility.  He goes into coach mode as he uses pictures of different types of muscle stretching, passive and active, to teach how and more importantly when to use each.  He is a proponent of active muscle stretching, or as he sometimes calls it tension-flexion or supple strength.

I agree with Dan John.  The reason to get this book is Coach’s “trifecta” for fixing banged up athletes.  He tells some great stories (in my opinion Wade is a good story teller) in that section and then goes on to explain and teach the three moves that in his opinion offer the biggest bang for your rehabilitative buck.  Just like his strength philosophy, the trifecta is broken into the three categories of movement: posterior chain, anterior chain, and lateral chain. After reading through his progressions for each and how he came up with them, I could not help thinking that this guy is a mad scientist. An original thinker.

If you are into mutant strength, there is something for you as there is in the first.  He’ll teach you how to progress into two types of bodyweight flags for insane lateral chain strength.  Just like Convict Conditioning 1, the progressions are logical and simple to follow. Even if you aren’t interested in doing flags (there’s a picture of what a flag is on the book cover at the bottom of this review), then the easier movements from the progressions are beneficial and accessible. Coach explains how the movements from the first Convict Conditioning will strengthen your lateral chain but how the flag progressions take it to another level.

Another progression series he gives is on the question of how to develop grip strength using your body weight. This chapter is gold, because he goes through I believe nine grip maneuvers and the pros and cons of each. At the end he gives you what he considers the best exercise for giving you mitts of steel without lifting external weights. If you are into grip training you will like this chapter.

He also teaches progressions and theories for calf strength and how to balance out the opposing muscle, the tibia.  He gives the layout for how to use joint mobility and what works and doesn’t.

My favorite part of the book is the story of Wade’s devastating hip injury that he received in the 1982 San Quentin riot.  As you can imagine, the story itself is very intense.  It really drew me in.  He puts you in that prison yard on that day. Reading that section gave me goosebumps. He talks about the vulnerability he felt after the injury when hobbling on crutches past the prison gangs.

His obsession with knowledge of the body comes to light as he talks about how he poured over books from the prison library to learn how to heal what his doctor called a permanent hip injury.  He rightly felt he needed to heal himself – fast – to avoid getting labelled as weak or soft, which is obviously deadly when you are living in prison. He gives the methods he used to fully heal that same hip in six weeks, despite his doc’s warning that the effects would be permanent.  He says that since then he had no further issues with that hip and it is stronger than its ever been.  I don’t know how a book on training can get more intense, dramatic, and at the same time useful as this.

One more thing.  Paul Wade has a unique ability of explaining physiological and kinesiological concepts in very simple ways.  As an amateur, I really (really) appreciate that.

The only negative thought I had on my first reading was that the progressions are laid out in a less straight forward way.  The progressions are laid out at a kindergarten level in Convict Conditioning 1, and in Convict Conditioning 2 in a third grade level, so you have to think a little more.  I think the first book spoiled me little.  Wah!  I have to think a little and flip back a page or two.  As soon as I used that perspective it didn’t bother me as much.

The last part of the book deals with miscellaneous health topics such as drugs, alcohol (pruno anyone?), nutrition, dealing with injuries, to mind training.  The mind training comes from Wade’s unique perspective as someone who spent 20+ years behind bars and the “darkness” or isolation that comes with it.  Wade is from an older generation that had more common sense. Being behind bars for so long and removed from the outside world, seems to me, helped him preserve it. It serves him well in his writing and coaching.

As I read this and the first one, I wondered how this man went from being incarcerated and addicted to drugs to helping massive amounts of people get on the path to strength and health, and passionately so. There is a redemptive quality to this story that enhances all of the training information in its own inimitable way.

Paul Wade is a man obsessed with health, strength, and well being. He offers a perspective that few can. My real complaint is that we get this glimpse into what he has lived and his training methods, but we can’t train with him. How awesome would that be? For now we have his books and that ain’t bad.

If you are interested in well being: joint mobility, flexibility, and strength do not think twice about buying this book.  The information is so vast and at the same time dramatic and well told I felt like it worth far more than $39. As I read through it, gleaning something from every single paragraph I felt it would easily be worth 3 times what I invested and I know I’ll keep coming back to it for the rest of my life.

Get your digital copy of Convict Conditioning 2 Here:

Convict Conditioning 2 ebook

Convict Conditioning 2

If you haven’t picked up the first one, you should do that too (in regular or e-format):

Convict Conditioning 1

Andrea Du Cane Speaks! How Kettlebells Anti Age You…

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Host Bryan Malatesta, RKC asks Master RKC Andrea Du Cane about the new Ageless Body project and how it came about.

Andrea breaks down what you lose when you age and let your health go and how an all around kettlebell and mobility program fixes it.  She talks general principles and stories of people she has helped.

Tune in and enjoy!

“The power is within us and the kettlebell is the tool to do it.” – Andrea Du Cane

http://agelessbodyblog.com/podcasts/AgelessbodyBlogPodcast20110917.mp3

 

The Single Most Beneficial Tool for Lower Back Tightness and Pain – And How and When to Do It

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The Hip Flexor stretch is the single most beneficial tool for lower back tightness and pain and hip and groin pain.

What it does is stretch the illiopsas and hip flexor muscles. These muscles attach at the lower back and pelvis. So if they are tight they pull on the lower back and sacrum causing pain and more flexion, which then causes even more pain and problems.

So doing the Hip Flexor stretch at least once a day will alleviate much of the lower back pain people experience.

It is also very important to stretch out after exercise and you can also do the stretch before performing your front squats to “unlock” the hips to get down deeper.”

Senior RKC Mark Toomey also suggest adding a static hang from a pull up bar and rolling around on the floor with your hands over your head, which is also a fun thing to do anyway.

Here Andrea lays out the guidelines for executing a perfect RKC Hip Flexor Stretch.  The Hip Flexor Stretches you see some people do (say, if you do a google image search) and the RKC Hip Flexor stretch differ only in the subtleties.  On the outside, they look like the same move.

But knowing these subtleties will give you a more effective stretch.

Hip Flexor Stretch: WHEN to do it, HOW to do it.

Start by kneeling with one leg forward on a soft surface with your hips squared straight ahead and level.

Your legs should be hip distance apart and should both follow imaginary parallel lines.

Place your hands on your hips or the small of your back.  Squeeze your glutes and push forward with your pelvis; simultaneously reaching your head to the ceiling and LENGTHENING your spine.

Keep the posterior “tuck” of the pelvis as you move forward and only go as far as you can go without losing it.

Do not allow your forward knee to travel over your toes. Exhale as you go forward and inhale as you come back up, repeat a few times moving in and out of the stretch in a gentle rhythm.

Repeat on your other leg.

This stretch should be done after every workout, and if you are one of those extra tight through the hip you should do it before swings and squats.
If you are extremely tight, it should be done every day.
Andrea will be demonstrating the subtleties of this stretch along with her “big 5″ stretches for Ageless Body training March 3/4 at the Ageless Body Workshop in Minneapolis.  There are currently 3 spots left.

How to Program Mobility, Flexibility, and Kettlebell Strength and Cardio Work

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Andrea teaches that the three pillars of the Ageless Body are Mobility, Flexibility and Strength/Cardio.

The reason for this is pretty simple: we need to move well to lift well and not be in pain, we need muscle (because it deteriotes as we age), and we need a strong heart for obvious reasons.

Andrea’s system teaches correct mobility and flexibility to move well and eliminate or lessen back, shoulder, hip, and knee pain.  This gives the foundation for safe and effective kettlebell practice, which delivers strength and cardio depending on the application.

Some thoughts on the relation between mobility, flexibility and swinging a kettlebell are here

Andrea has a content rich DVD on all three of these things called the Kettlebell Boomer (soon to be retitled the Ageless Body).

The main reason we wanted to change the title is because what Andrea teaches to acheive an Ageless Body is universal, while ”Boomer” is not.  “Boomer” is restricted to one particular generation of people.

Senior RKC and Fulbrite Scholar Dan John uses this program because he points out “it makes me do what I know I need to do.”

This isn’t rocket science.  It is knowing what to do and then doing it.

In the DVD, Andrea shows you exactly what to do for optimal mobility and flexibility.  She teaches how to do kettlebells safely and effectively and then leads you through several strength and cardio workouts.

Some of the kettlebell moves taught are the Deadlift, Hardstyle Swing and Turkish Get Up and Bodyweight essentials like the plank.

Andrea scales all the exercises to whatever your level: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

All of this information clocks in at nearly 3 hours.  Get Your Copy of the DVD here:

Andrea’s DVD on Flexibility, Mobility and Kettlebells

How to Program Flexibility, Mobility, and Kettlebell Practice

OK, now here is a question from DVD user Catherine from Pennsylvania. Catherine, first of all I agree with Andrea, nice job grabbing the bull by the horns, getting the DVD and USING it!  We can all learn from your example.

Here Catherine asks a great question on programming.  Below, Andrea gives a sample program of how to put mobility, flexibility, strength, and cardio into your weekly practice.  Set aside some time for your self and do it!  And enjoy the body transformation!

Catherine: Hi Andrea, I now have you KB Boomer DVD and am working through it. I’m 51 and 50+ pounds overweight. The closest RKC-FMS is over an hour away, but I plan on seeing him (once) in a month or two. Meanwhile – after the first time I worked through all of the instruction on the DVD, my glutes and lower back hurt (in a good way) for 3 days! After 3 days rest, I did the cardio session for the first time and I’ve been feeling the same muscles for two days now. I didn’t get through the 3rd round of swings. (Too winded). I was using a 12 kg kettlebell.

I plan on doing the warmup every day, and want to do kb work 3 days a week. I want to be able to do lighter movements (walking, elliptical) on other days without wrecking the muscle recuperation. How should I use the DVD?

Andrea: First of all I’d like to congratulate you for jumping in with both feet! It is a brave thing you’ve done, starting an intense exercise program without expert coaching and guidance. My Boomer DVD is the best way to start, but it still is an intense workout.

You don’t mention your fitness level or athletic background, so I’ll assume you are new to kettlebells and have not been exercising regularly.

I mention in the introduction (and there is much more detail into “ramping up” and programming in my upcoming book “The Ageless Body”), that you should spend the first few days going over and practicing the Prep exercises and Warm Up. Then start with the Instructional section and the basic drills. Once you have progressed through all the exercises, spending a couple of days on each, you will be ready to complete a full workout.

Because you didn’t ramp up your skills, technique and muscles you were extra sore after the first workout.

I also mention in the dvd, ALWAYS work at your own pace. Slow down, stop the DVD, switch to the beginner level if you had been following the intermediate etc.  Those are all ways to make sure you are training at a safe and appropriate level.

Once you are feeling good about the workouts, your weekly workout schedule should look something like this:

Day 1  (Warm Up) STRENGTH (Flexibility)
Day 2  Prep drills (Corrective), Warm up (Mobility), Stretching (Flexibility)
Day 3 (Warm Up) CARDIO (Flexibility)
Day 4 (Warm Up) Get UP, STRENGTH (Flexibility)
Day 5 Prep drills, Warm up, Get UP
Day 6  (Warm Up) STRENGTH and/or CARDIO (Flexibility)
Day 7  Rest

This is just a sample of how you can mix it up, notice you are giving your body a chance to rest on the prep and warm up days.

Remember you should ALWAYS do the warm up and cool down stretching. On your rest days just skip the actual workout, but use the warmup (mobility) and prep (corrective) and stretches (flexibility) to give your body an active rest.

Good luck and enjoy!!

To learn the right flexibility, mobility, and kettlebell moves from the Master RKC, grab your copy of Andrea’s DVD here:

Andrea’s Kettlebell, Flexibility and Mobility Program

 

Ageless Body Profile: Karen

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Karen is joining us with her husband in Orlando for the first and only Ageless Body Workshop (www.agelessbodyworkshop.com).  She has been kind enough to let us share her fitness and kettlebell history and expectations of the workshop on the blog.  Karen and her husband are going to like spending two solid days learning from Andrea.

This should give you an idea of who this workshop will benefit.  We love getting feedback like this and clear and concise things we can help with!

Here’s Karen:

I have been very excited about the Ageless Body Workshop since first hearing about it. I love the idea of catering to Boomers and working out to live life rather than working out to achieve PR’s. Having the opportunity to attend a workshop by Andrea Du Cane is such a privilege.  I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to meet Andrea and experience this workshop.

I am 48 years old and will be attending the workshop with my 50-year old husband. We were both introduced to kettlebells in a workshop with Dr. Mark Cheng 3 years ago. I have also taken a couple of private lessons, a workshop and some classes from Lauren Brooks.  I own and have used KB DVD’S – Kettlebell Goddess, Sarah Lurie’s Iron Core, Ultimate Conditioning by Lauren Brooks and Pavel’s KB/TRX. Essentially, my husband and I are not kettlebell newbies. We have been training consistently in some form for most of our lives.

My training over the past 12 years has been mainly strength and weight maintenance/fat loss (I like muscle definition on a lean body).  My regular workouts include at least 3 strength training days and 3-4 cardio days. I enjoy weightlifting and the results I achieve, but realize heavy weights are not the best for my joints and ligaments. At 48 years old, I am showing the effects of lack of attention to flexibility and mobility.

For the past 5 months, I have been on the 6- month original Turbulence training program by Craig Ballantyne. These workouts consist of 3 strength training supersets followed by bike intervals. The total workout time is just under 50 minutes and is done 3 days per week.  I have seen excellent results from this program.  I also do Convict Conditioning exercises 2-3 times per week and practice TGU’s and swings once a week.  At 5’4”, I am lean and sculpted at 110 pounds.

My problem is lack of confidence with Swings, Deadlifts, TGU’s, Goblet Squats and Windmills. I am never sure if I am moving properly, and eventually I do “tweak” something in my back, shoulder or neck.  High pulls are difficult and I totally lack confidence to snatch. I have been told that I have a weak hip snap and do not fully extend my hips at the top.

My fitness/workout goals are strength, muscle definition, weight maintenance/fat loss, flexibility and mobility.  I do not train for any particular sport. I train for the physical benefits I get from keeping my body strong and lean and the mental and emotional benefits of focusing  one small block of time to taking care of myself. As a busy mother of two children (6 and 12 years old), the majority of my waking hours are devoted exclusively to the children and running our busy household.

My goals for the Ageless Body workshop are the following:

1)      “Dial in”/refine my Swing, Deadlift, Goblet Squats, TGU’s and Windmills. I want to feel confident that my form and technique are safe.

2)      Learn exercises and stretches that will increase my flexibility and mobility. How much stretching is needed daily/weekly?

3)      Learn what type of program should be doing to achieve my goals – strength gains, muscle definition, weight maintenance/fat loss, increased flexibility and mobility.

4)      Suggestions for workout programs to follow. My motivation comes from having a structured program in front of me to follow and keeping a workout journal. I need to know that if I do A + B the result is C.

5)      Answer questions such as how much time is required per day/per week to continue to improve and achieve my goals?

6)      Learn how to snatch and do pistols.

My husband has different goals for the workshop. He has been practicing Brazilian ji-jit su for more than 15 years. At 50 years old, he suffers from poor flexibility and mobility, both of which are very important in marital arts. He cannot fully straighten his arms preventing him from being able to fully lock-out and he has difficulty getting his arm straight overhead due to shoulder and elbow immobility.   His goals for this workshop would be centered on ways to achieve mobility in his arms and shoulders.

As I get older, I know I don’t want to train like I did when I was 25, but I want to continue building strength. As we age, how do we continue training and improving our physical strength, flexibility and mobility without getting injured? How do we continue challenging ourselves without feeling like we’re “killing” ourselves?

I spend a hours of time daily reading articles about training programs, different techniques and tips, checking out new workout programs, etc. Honestly it all becomes confusing after awhile. Simple but effective is what I am looking for and hope that this workshop and Andrea Du Cane can set me on the right track.

Many thanks for your time in planning this Ageless Body workshop.   I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you and Andrea in Orlando.

The Three Pillars of the Ageless Body by Andrea Du Cane

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The following is an excerpt of the Ageless Body Workshop Manual.

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment or question!

Enter Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC, CK-FMS, Z-Health, CICS:

We have the choice to let aging happen to us, or actively put up a fight.

We can’t stop it, but we can decide to continue to live our lives to the fullest.
Aches, pains, a little stiffness, decline in strength or speed and the need for medications that have side effects are all part of the process. But, we don’t have to use those conditions as an excuse to give up and sit on the couch watching “The Biggest Loser”.

We must keep moving, keep active both physically and mentally to continue to enjoy life as we know it. There are many simple things we can do to slow the hands of time. The obvious are diet and exercise.

I work with a lot of people who have been athletes or been very active for most of their lives. These people often come to see me after their first, second (or third) minor injury or setback. They have been going along following a certain program for years and for a long time it worked. Then all of a sudden, the workouts they had been doing stopped producing the results they wanted, or they started to gain weight and got injured. Welcome to the first of many little reminders of our mortality and the aging process.

I have a strategy for moving beyond these roadblocks to keep you healthy and vital.
It’s not a magic pill, but with dedication and consistency you can achieve a feeling of renewed vigor, prevent injuries, and maintain your goals for weight and strength.

First, it’s time for an attitude adjustment. If you are the type to push yourself to the limit every time you workout, you no doubt have already experienced some kind of injury or set back. Now is not the time to blindly push yourself to set PR’s every workout. Having a goal is important, but so is listening to your body and knowing when to give it a break. Remember the next step after a peak is a big fall downwards!

This careful attention to what the body actually needs is especially important for trainers to learn when working with certain populations. Sometimes the trainer’s job is to slow down and adjust a workout program so their client doesn’t over train. Learning to watch for those signs both within yourself and your client is crucial for successfully reaching your goals.

Years ago I remember a trainer at a Big Box gym asked me why I always looked so good. She said she’d been training and dieting and no matter what she did she was actually gaining weight and losing strength. I realized on some level that she was overtraining, but didn’t’ know how to articulate that to her. Because of my work schedule at that time, I was forced to have days with no chance to workout. And because the film business had a “craft-service” table I ate like a pig on “shoot” days. The combination of rest and eating more, allowed me to rest my body and feed it as well. When I did hit the gym, I hit it hard and also naturally cut my calories. The result was a healthy and fit body.

Now my schedule is a bit different. I follow my own version of “Easy Strength”. I love the way Senior RKC, Dan John put it in such a simple format. I naturally have been doing that for years. For me, this type of training keeps me fit, healthy and I can maintain my crazy lifestyle.

There are many ways to train, hit it hard a 2-3 times a week or do a relatively light workout 4-6 times a week. I will go into more detail regarding programming later in this manual. But, in my opinion the most important thing to remember it’s now how often you train but HOW you train!

I’d like to introduce something I call the Three Pillars. Or you can think of it as three points of a triangle, each of equal importance. Balance of all three is what is important here.

Strength
Flexibility
Mobility

It is now common knowledge that strength training as you age is key to staying healthy. Strength training has a positive impact on everything from your blood pressure, resting heart rate, body weight, muscle mass, triglycerides, cholesterol as well as helping to control diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. I’m not saying that it’s a cure for any of these, but following a healthy lifestyle can help prevent some of the typical signs of aging.

Maintaining strength also helps with balance and prevents injuries. Falling is one of the leading causes of people being put in nursing homes, and is also shown to be a leading factor in deaths in the elderly.

Flexibility and mobility often are confused. The former being “the quality of bending easily without breaking”. Flexibility is the ability to move a muscle to it’s natural length allowing full range of motion of a joint or series of joints. However, having too much flexibility and too little strength can lead to injury. Over stretching can lead to sacrum and lower back problems.

The latest studies show that stretching before strength training actually decreases your overall strength and does not help in reducing injuries. Stretching correctly after exercise can help the body recover. However, stretching correctly is not as easy as it sounds. You must be careful to use proper form when stretching to hit the muscle you intending and not over stretch the ligaments and joints.

Mobility is the ability to move or be moved freely and easily. For the body this means the ability to freely move a joint or series of joints in their full range of motion.

If you stop moving your joints they can calcify and you will then end up with an immovable joint. That’s why after knee surgery or shoulder surgery they get you moving that joint as soon as possible.

3 Ways to Mobilize Your Hips and Why It is Critical

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Last night I was reading a monstrosity (in a good way) of a book by Gray Cook called Movement.  Gray is a consultant to pro sports team and teaches mobility and movement screen certifications, among other things.  This is one of those books where you have to have an intense desire to know what the author is saying, because you have to keep looking up words and reading sentences over and over again.  It is like drinking water from a fire hose.  But any little thing you get is worth more than gold.

He said something that harmonized with what I read in Andrea’s new book (not yet available).  Out of all the different kinds of movement, Gray says that hip and shoulder mobility are the true “primitive” foundations of movement.  This doesn’t mean ankle mobility or other kinds of mobility aren’t as important, its just that hip and shoulder are the most basic. So even though they aren’t more important, they have a certain privilege.

Toe Touching

The toe touch is a good indicator of hip mobility.  And this is really a question of having long, strong hamstrings.  If you do, then go can keep your legs nice and straight and bend over and grab your toes without contorting your back or bending your knees.  In other words your gluteals will be engaged, even in a somewhat “extreme” position.

The fact that you utilize your glute muscles is a good indicator of correct hip movement.

Unfortunately, our society has forgotten about our butts.

I think this is a big reason for aging and a big reason for people trying to stay active and getting hurt.

How to pick up an object

When you go to pick up a kettlebell, or any object, “sit back” and don’t bend over or scoop your knees.

But this is how many people move.  What does it tell us?  The glutes are these big slabs of muscle and instead of “sitting back” and actually using them people want to bend or scoop and end up using smaller muscles that weren’t meant for loading like the low back and knees.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that moving and lifting this way is an injury waiting to happen.  It is also AGING waiting to happen.

So practice using your glutes.  Here’s how.

Picking Stuff Up Vs. Squatting

Its important to keep in mind that the squatting movement and deadlifting movement are similar, yet different.

Both use the glutes, but the intention is different.  With the deadlift, you want to shoot your hips back, NOT down or back and down.

A good drill to practice this is to face away from a wall and “punch” your glutes against the wall.  You want to move farther away from the wall and keep hitting it with your hips WITHOUT letting your shins go less the perpendicular towards the wall.  Keep your shins at or close to perpendicular.

Secret to Mobile Hips

Here’s a big secret to hip mobility.  It is very easy when the right muscles are long and strong, not short and tight.

And the two big ones are the hamstrings, that we mentioned, and the hip flexor muscles that become tight when we sit all day.

The name “hip flexor” tells us these muscles flex the hips…so if they are tight then you will have trouble flexing your hips.

Fishing analogy

I was trying to think of an analogy to explain this and kept coming back to fishing, even though I haven’t fished since I was a kid (shame on me).

Say you want to cast your line out into the middle of the lake.  The ability to do that depends on the length of your string.

Same with the right use of your hips when you pick something up.  You want to “cast” your hips backward and you can’t do that if your hamstrings and hips flexors are tight.

good cast:long fishing line::mobile hips:long HFs and hamstrings

So what’s the best way to loosen the hamstrings and hip flexors?

Last year I was assisting at the RKC and a Master RKC noticed my low back would round downwards when I deadlifting, an “anterior tilt.”  It wasn’t staying neutral.  He wouldn’t help me solve my problem but Pavel did.

Pavel suggested what I later came to learn Gray Cook suggests for tight hamstrings.  The active and passive straight leg raise.  This simple exercise is cash money.  Gray points out there is much more to this exercise than stretching your hamstrings (which is fascinating to discover), but still it is great for stretching your hamstrings, probably the best one there is.  I really like to use a belt and do the passive leg raise.  In Movement, I believe Gray uses the passive leg raise to help achieve a better active straight leg raise.  And it certainly does that.

Pelvic Tilt

 

My low back was tilting anteriorly, towards the front.  My hamstrings and hip flexors were tight so they were “pulling” my low back anteriorly. Pavel and Gray suggest the obvious.  Lengthen those muscles enjoy a more neutral spine, or perhaps a slight posterior tilt but not too much.

Hip Flexor Stretching

For the hip flexors you can’t go wrong with the “RKC hip flexor stretch.”  There is now an RKC Hip Flexor 2.0 which I’m not familiar with enough to break down, but I remember when Pavel introduced it he gave some credit to Andrea for helping develop it.  Do you like how we talk about stretches like computer programs?  Version 2.0…developing…its so bizarre.  But Andrea has so much dance experience it makes sense that she would help with the flexibility developments.

Another tip Pavel gave me for my hips was face the wall deadlifts.  These are awesome…and hard.  You just face the wall and shoot your hips back.  If you have tight hamstrings and hip flexors you won’t be able to go very far.  This move brings it all together and forces a healthy posterior pelvic tilt.

So to increase your hip mobility try these three things:

Active/passive straight leg raise
Hip Flexor Stretch (I’ll put links to HF and ASLR and PSLR when I find good ones…in the meantime google them).
Face the Wall Deadlift

After doing these things daily, through deliberate practice NOT working out, to failure, etc. let’s come back to our starting point.  I bet your toe touch will be better.

Have fun with your Hip Mobility: Load 

But we don’t do this to touch our toes, as amusing as that is.  We want to have mobile hips so we can safely and strongly lift stuff.

Now that we use our glutes…we want to load them up with weight.  That’s what they are for.

Once you have mobile hips then you should start deadlifting or better yet, the most explosive deadlift there is: the hardstyle kettlebell swing…a veritable fat burning machine.

See how it all ties together?

Aging hates this information.

Rock Bottom Pistol at 66 Years Young

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How Kettlebells Changed My Life

I became interested in Kettlebell training a little over four years ago. I was beyond frustrated with my health. I had religiously followed the rules of health I had been taught. I have a B.S. in Health and Physical Education and have been a Chiropractor for over 25 years. You would think I would know what worked, Right? I thought so too. But evidently I did not. All I had to do was look at myself in the mirror to see that. I have tried it all. Every conceivable combination of cardio, weights, flexibility and diet that you can think of, I have tried. And after years of training at 64 years of age I was ready to quit. I was getting weaker, stiffer and actually fat. What was wrong?

Well just about everything I was doing was wrong! Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I had to admit as far as fitness went I was insane. Not a happy thought. Right? I don’t remember how I heard about Kettlebells but I was willing to try anything. I drove four hours to Houston to meet Team Leader Jay Armstrong and take a class. What an awakening. Finally! Here was someone almost my age who could move like a kid and was brutally strong. Some of the women he trained were stronger than the men in the class. I was impressed. I heard about this thing called the RKC Challenge and thought “That’s impossible for someone my age”. But Jay encouraged me. I was not as convinced of my potential as he was to say the least. People have told me “John you are just getting older”. Accept it.  Next time someone tells you that, drop an Kettlebell on their foot . Aging is mandatory, Getting old is optional. I set a goal. I would attempt the RKC in two years. Focusing on the Swing and Turkish get up and the Kettlebell warm up, I started my journey.

One other thing. I decided that I would never train longer than 30 minutes, 4 days a week. No more hours wasted in the gym for me. My beginning workout was:
Mon & Thurday: 10 min. warm up followed by 12 minutes of swings using the 24 lb. bell
Tues. & Friday: 10 minute warm up followed by 5 minutes of Turkish Get-up, using a very small Kettlebell. And 10 minutes of practicing goblet squats, deadlifts and clean and presses.

By the time I was ready to go to the RKC, I was swinging the44 lb. Kettlebell and doing get-ups with the 53 lb. Kettlebell. I went from 150 lbs. down to 129 lbs and under 10% body fat. I was able to snatch the 44 lb. Kettlebell 75 times in 5 minutes. I was stronger, leaner and healthier than when I was 20.  Today my Rule is the same. NEVER TRAIN more than 30minutes.

My current routine:
Mon. & Thur.
10 minutes Bulletproof and flexibility warm-up
3 minutes snatches using the 44 lb. followed by 9 minutes of
swings using the 44lb.
Tues. & Thur.
10 minute warm-up
5 minutes Turkish Get-ups followed by a 15 minute circuit of
Pullups, Double Cleans and Presses using the 44′s and Pistols
(single leg squats).

I feel better than I have felt my entire life.

Anyone can do this!! The fitness world is full of misinformation. You can trust the RKC.
Embrace the truth like your life depended on it.

Because it actually does!

AUGUST 19, 2011 UPDATE:

We received a great question addressed to Dr. John:

“Brilliant Dr John! You’re a champion! What strategies did you use to change your mindset?

Regards,

Dave”

Here is Dr. John’s response:

“Hello Dave,
Thanks for the compliment. As far as Strategies for Change.  What I used was HONESTY…… Take off your clothes…. STAND IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR…. LIKE WHAT YOU SEE??? .. NO??
Then what you are doing is not working……   IF NOTHING CHANGES THEN NOTHING CHANGES…… I had been misled for years by profit motive driven fitness industry people who have invaded our lives and actually the University level. ALL of what I learned regarding strength and fitness in college and afterward was wrong. Basically I Got Sick and Tired and became WILLING to try something different. And IT WORKED FOR ME>
Good luck
Hope to see you in Orlando.
Drjohn”

What’s going on in Orlando?

If you want to explore the Ageless Body deeply for 2 solid days and get the best information, that hardly anyone in the fitness world knows about – aimed at longevity NOT setting personal records – there are 4 spots left for the first and only Ageless Body Workshop in Orlando.

Reserve your spot here and save $300.00 on registration when you sign up by tomorrow, August 20:

www.agelessbodyworkshop.com

Sean

PS An acquaintance of Dr. John’s had this to say:

“I personally have watched Dr. Sullivan completely transform his entire body through the use of Kettlebells and the dietary guidelines he implements. He truly walks his talk and leads by example.

He is nothing short of amazing (aside from the fact he is 66!) and his passion for fitness and health is exceeded only by his desire to help others in this arena of life.

He is a patient, knowledgeable, educated teacher. He is constantly looking for the latest techniques and ways he can help his patients and fitness clients to a better life through improved health and fitness. Thank you Dr. Sullivan for your continued journey to help everyone to a healthier life!”

-Julia

PPS Grab one of the remaing spots by clicking here and save $300.00: www.agelessbodyworkshop.com