Tag Archive for kettle bells

Switching Gears

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Hey people!

I’m not sure why, but I had a realllllllly hard time saying goodbye to the weekend yesterday. I worked most of Saturday, so that may have added to it, but I definitely feel like I could have used a 3 day weekend!

I’m heading to Big Bear next week, so I won’t complain. A whole week in the mountains is going to be amazing!

Switching Gears

Thank you all for the emails and comments I received on this post. It was a fun experiment and I’m excited to do more in the future!

With that said, for the time being, I’m going to switch back to heavy lifting for a few months. Not only do I love it, but I’ve been really itching to do a powerlifting competition lately! I’d like to start training more for that and sign up for one later in the year. I thought about doing a local one next month (and still might, just to get my feet wet), but being that I just got my wisdom teeth out (and my workouts have been mellow since Wednesday), and that I’ll be in the mountains next week, I’d really only have about 18 days to prepare. At the same time, it’s not sanctioned, so I still may do it just to get some practice!

Workouts for the Week

This is tentative, but here’s what I have planned for this week

Monday: Kettle Bell Conditioning (workout below) + Upper Body Push

Tuesday: Legs (focus: squats & hip thrusts)

Wednesday: Upper Body Pull + Sprints

Thursday: Legs (focus: deadlifts)

Friday: Upper Body

Saturday: OFF

Sunday: Legs

If you’re looking for something quick to change up your workouts or to add some conditioning into your current program, try this:

Kettle Bell Conditioning: Perform Circuit Style for 5 Rounds

  • 10 KB Cleans
  • 10 KB Snatches
  • 15 KB Swings

Question of the Day

1. What’s your favorite way to train? For power? strength? aesthetics?

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20 Minute Sweatfest! {workout inside}

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Hey guys!

I’m so glad the weekend is almost here! I’m getting over a little cold, and I want to just chill out and watch movies. Remember the good old days when you were sick and it meant that you were automatically excused of all responsibilities? Oh how I wish that were still the case! As an adult, being sick just means you feel like shit as you go through your normal daily tasks. Boo.

Today I was feeling a bit on the mend and decided to see how a workout would feel. Working out when I’m getting over being sick is a 50/50 risk I take. Sometimes I feel like it kicks me out of the sickness for good….other times it just makes me feel worse. I’m happy to say that I think I’m feeling better after this one! Fingers Crossed.

For this workout, you need a barbell, a kettle bell (or a dumbbell would work too), and a medicine ball. I used a regular 45 lb bar, a 12kg Kettle Bell and a 16 pound medicine ball, but use what works for you.

20 min sweat fest

This workout kicks my butt. I do it once per week for conditioning and it never fails!

After:

IMG_7926That’s my sweaty post-workout bathroom selfie inception photo. What do you ya think?

I’m spending the rest of my day getting a bunch of work done, finding some boxes (oh yeah, we’re moving!), and then going to hopefully relax and get the rest of this sickness OUT of my body.

Have a wonderful day peeps!

Question of the Day:

Do you work out when you’re sick?

 

xo,

Lizzy

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Banded Hip Thrusts + Killer Leg Workout! {VIDEOS}

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The holiday weekend is thisclose!!!! Is everyone else as excited as I am? I love my work, but I love my playtime too!

I plan on doing a mix of kicking back and relaxing as well as going on some adventures! The weather is gorgeous this time of year (and ummm every other time of the year…thanks Santa Monica!) so I’m going to take advantage of it somehow! I’ve really been wanting to rollerblade down by the beach lately. I loooovvveee rollerblading and don’t do it often enough. Any other bladers around here or is it just me?!

On Tuesday, I did a pretty killer leg workout. It was a mixture of strength training and athletic movements. It completely turned my legs to jello and was a lot of fun! I’ve been doing hip thrusts since pretty much the beginning of hip thrusts (thanks Bret!), and have done them with barbells, dumbbells, and bands. Since my first training studio had a Skorcher (built specifically for hip thrusts), I was able to do banded hip thrusts whenever I wanted, but most gyms don’t have that. I had never actually attempted to do them anywhere else, but decided to try to get creative and figure it out. I found the PERFECT solution and it can be done at any gym containing a standard bench press. Maybe people have already been doing this for a while, but if not, I highly recommend trying it out:

Here’s the full leg workout I did:

Deadlifts: 4 sets at 149 x 15, 159 x 12, 169 x 10, 179 x 8

Deadlift set up

Deadlift set up

Banded Hip Thrusts: 4 sets of 20 reps (next time I’ll try with a thicker band)

2014-08-26 17.43.10

Combo: 3 sets of KB Swings (28kg), Sled Push, Squats, Sled Push (video below)

Superset: 3 sets of DB Walking Lunges (20lb DB’s x 10) + Broad Jumps (10 reps)

Definitely scale this to what you can do and as always, check with a doctor before trying any new workout programs. If you’re unsure of how to do any of these movements, feel free to e-mail me! I’m happy to do video demonstrations!

Have a great rest of the day! 2014-08-26 18.00.12 HDR

Question of the day:

Do you do Hip Thrusts?

Banded? Barbell? DB?

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Leg Workout + Kettlebells

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Hey friends! Hope your Tuesday is off to a great start!

Monday morning, me and several million of my friends woke up to a good shake here in Southern California. It was definitely the biggest earthquake I’ve ever felt, but by no means was it bad compared to the devastations that have happened around the world. I woke up from the jolt and in trying to wake up my boyfriend, accidentally punched him in the face. Luckily that was the only injury that took place. (Sorry babe! ;-))

The best part of the earthquake was definitely this…..

Makes me laugh every time! Thank you Captain Obvious! We all felt it!

Anyways, moving on!

Yesterday, I did a doozy of a workout. It was a mixture of legs and back with a hint of some kettle bell action. I LOVE kettle bells. They are so versatile. They take some time to get used to, and it is helpful to have someone who knows what they’re doing show you the ropes (errr…bells). Once you DO learn how to use them, they can be used for just about anything.

Here’s what I did Monday:

The Workout

The Workout

For the squats, I did sets of 15, 12, 10, 8, and 6, increasing the weight each set. I worked my way up to 115 pounds.

For the pull ups, I did sets of 5, 5, 3, and then switched to chin ups and did 3 and 3.

For the rest of the exercises, I did sets of 10-12 reps of each. 

I used 12kg for the one arm KB Snatches and 16kg for the KB Swings

This workout definitely kicked my butt! Loved that I went from a slower paced heavy lift, to a faster pace burnout. Had  a good sweat going by the end!

Here’s my plan for the rest of the week: 

Tuesday: Boxing and Bouldering

Wednesday: HIIT and Bouldering

Thursday: CrossFit and a Functional Workout

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Hike

Sunday: Rest

I’m traveling to Phoenix once again this weekend, so my workouts Friday – Sunday will be whatever I can get in. I will, of course, have to make a visit to my old stomping grounds (aka the Mecca of Scottsdale). I’m planning on resting on Friday and Sunday, but if I decide to drive back Monday, I’ll probably move my rest day to Monday.

Do you use Kettle Bells?

If you have, what are your favorite Kettle Bell exercises?

If you haven’t, would you like some videos to help you learn?

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