Kettlebells are now pretty famous for developing real world strength and power as well as being a handy muscle building tool. They are used by martial artists and sports people who need to build strength in a practical manner without sacrificing their range of motion or speed. In this post I want to look at a few basic exercises and workouts for the kettlebells.

What is a kettlebell?

In case you aren’t too sure what a kettlebell is take a look at the top image. It is basically a round cannon ball with a handle on it that allows you to throw it around and lift it in more ways than you can with a normal dumbbell. Check out some of the videos below to see how they are used.

Basic Kettlebell Exercises

There are a few kettlebell exercises that are known the world over for being effective and quite easy to learn. You should base your workouts on these core exercises.

Take a look at this video. In it we see a few basic exercises including the:

• Two arm swing
• One arm swing
• Snatch
• Squat
• Cleans
• and Switches

It is important to master these basic movements before going on to more advanced stuff or doing a full blown workout. Kettlebells can cause serious back injury if they are not done with proper form.

In this next video we can see step by step how to do a Turkish Get-Up which is a full body exercise that involves some floor work. Check it out:

In this next video we can see the basics of how to do an overhead press with the kettlebell. This is one of the most important basic movements that you can do with the kettlebell.

Kettlebell workouts

Once you have mastered the basic exercises you need to put them together in a workout. The variety of things you can do with a kettlebell is quite amazing. You can do workouts to target your whole body, improve your speed and power and really blast your fitness.

In this video we can see a pretty hard six minute kettlebell workout. As you can imagine, your whole body would be aching the next day. Take a look:

Where to buy Kettlebells?

If you want to pick up some kettlebells for your private gym you can take a look at a2z Equipment’s kettlebell page. It is a good place to get a better deal on this must-have piece of gym equipment.

Conclusion on Kettlebells

These things really are amazing for your strength and power. You can use them to boost your fitness as well as building functional muscles. Does anyone here use them?

I have been having an email conversation today with loyal reader Andrew about what ingredients a post workout protein shake should include. In this post I want to take a quick look at what I feel are the most important ingredients for a post workout protein shake.

The most important ingredients for a post workout protein shake

Remember, when having a protein shake it is important to consider not only the ingredients but also the timing. Your post workout shake should be taken immediately after your workout. Not five minutes later. Not three minutes later. Immediately. You need to give your muscles protein and energy as soon as possible. With that in mind here are some of the important ingredients:

1. Milk
Milk has a lot of protein in it and the type of protein in milk is called casein. Casein is a slow digesting protein and it is one of the best proteins there is for building muscle. It is good to have this protein after your workout and then again before bed as it will provide a few hours of proteins for the body to work with.

Milk is also important for the protein shake to make it taste good! I always use a non-homogenized milk that has not been heated too much as I feel this really impacts on the quality. Some people believe that this is dangerous as it has a lot of germs in it. I am not too sure - make up your own mind.

2. Whey protein powder
We all know how important whey is for bodybuilding. It is a by-product of cheese that comes from milk during the cheese making process. The two main types of whey protein are isolate and concentrate - isolate being higher in protein and lower in calories as it has been purified more. Whey is an essential ingredient to any serious post workout shake.

3. Gatorade
Not many people include Gatorade in their post workout shake and it is a shame. This stuff is designed to hydrate you fast and also has a lot of water in it. The salt in Gatorade helps you hydrate a lot quicker. A dash in a protein shake helps with recovery.

4. Banana
Bananas are full of so many vitamins, minerals, proteins and more that they are truly a super food. I make all of my protein shakes with banana in them as I love the taste and I find it an easy way to get more fruit in my diet. An added bonus of banana is that it causes a mild sugar boost which helps your body release insulin and as such push nutrients in to the muscles. Many bodybuilders believe that this is a key to successful post workout eating.

5. Multivitamins
If you take a multivitamin it is a good idea to have it now while you are getting a lot of other vitamins and minerals. Your body is somewhat depleted after a hard workout so now is a good a time as any to top yourself up.

6. Egg
Eggs are an amazing food for bodybuilders. They are full of all the nutrients that a baby chicken would need to grow had the egg been fertilized and incubated. The protein in egg is the highest quality protein there is as it is raw and uncooked and 100% absorbed by the body. Eggs also have a lot of good fats and cholesterols in them which is essential for healthy bodybuilding. I usually have one or two in a post workout shake.

Homemade are better than store bought

At my gym they sell a wide range of Musashi protein shakes. These are quite expensive and not all that good for you. Sure they have a lot of protein in them but the other ingredients are artificial and they are packed full of poisonous refined sugar.

It is a much better idea to make your protein shakes at home with fresh ingredients. Over time you will save money and you will be doing your body a big favor. I have found from my own experience that muscle gains are a lot bigger when you have fresh ingredients in your cup.

Getting only the best ingredients

I am a firm believer that what we eat has a huge impact on how healthy we are. I also think better quality ingredients mean better quality results. For this reason (and others) you should take some pride in how you select your food. Here are some pointers:

• NEVER buy cage eggs. Always buy free range eggs from chickens on a big farm. They are better for you and much more ethical.
• Buy local bananas. Try to buy bananas that have been grown in your own country to support local trade.
• Carefully select the milk you buy based on how they prepare it and what the companies treatment of the cows is like

These are some of the most important ingredients and tips for making a post workout protein shake. If you have any others we would really like to hear them. Leave a comment as it may help the tens of thousands of people who read this site.

Here at RMO we are always taking about lifting heavy weights and although I always tell people to start out slow we rarely talk about gym safety. In this post I want to look at a few dangers that you need to know about to make sure your weight lifting is safe.

1. Not warming up properly

Not warming up properly is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Many people jump into the weight rack without taking time to do cardio or a few light weights.

Even when people do warm up they rarely do it properly. I am of the opinion that a good weights warm up should consist of a bit of cardio as well as some light weights in the area you are going to be working out. If you are going to do bench press start with a few pushups to get the area ready.

Not warming up can lead to muscle strains, tears, etc. These can be very long injuries.

2. Lifting a weight you are not ready for

One of the most common dangerous things that people do in the gym is lift a heavy weight that they are not ready for. It is a very easy way to end up with a serious muscle tear or even worse. I have heard of people breaking bones, ripping tendons and even puncturing lungs by dropping a heavy weight on their chest.

Here is a video showing you what can happen when you lift a weight you aren’t ready for. Warning - this isn’t for the faint of heart.

3. Not using the equipment properly

Another common danger is when people do not use the equipment properly. I see this all the time at the gym and wonder how long it will be before someone has a serious accident. Only use the equipment for what it was purposely intended for. Anything else is just silly.

4. Not using proper technique

Technique is there for a reason. It stops you from getting injured and it helps you use the muscles in the correct fashion. When you lift with poor technique you run the risk of seriously injuring yourself.

Take a look at this bench press accident. The guy holds the bar improperly (no thumbs) and is obviously lifting a weight he cannot handle at all. Again, this video is not for those with weak stomaches.

Technique is the most important thing in bodybuilding. I have always and I will always say this. Make sure your technique is sound every time you lift a weight.

5. Abusing your body with drugs and supplements

Steroids, excessive protein, too many supplements… all of these things are bad for your body and are a serious danger. Part of gym safety is making sure that your internal body is taken care of. If you abuse your system with steroids and other similar products you will end up sick or dead.

Valentino will attest to this:

Can you think of any others?

top image: photo credit: magnetbox

Getting a huge back like Ronnie Coleman is the holy grail of bodybuilding. Having a huge back is a big advantage in bodybuilding contests and it is vital for any contact sport or martial art. A lot of power comes from having a strong back. In this post I want to look at how you can get a huge back like Ronnie Coleman.

A huge back is part illusion

The first thing you need to understand is that having a huge back is part illusion. If you want to look like you have a huge back for a bodybuilding contest you need to make sure your waist is small. You also need to make sure your lateral deltoids are large and protruding as this will make your back look bigger than it really is.

In this post, however, I will not be looking at these elements. Rather I will be looking at how you can train your back muscles to make them as big and as strong as possible.

What muscles are involved in training for a huge back?

Before I can say how to train for a huge back you need to know what muscles are involved. If you do not know this aspect really well your back training will be like looking for a needle in the dark.

Primarily we will be focussing on two muscles:

• the latissimus dorsi; and
• the rhomboids

These muscles make up the majority of the back and when developed properly give the back a very nice and large shape. It is particularly important to train those lats in order to create the much sought after V-taper.

Getting huge lats

First in your back workout you will want to hit your lats. The lats muscles run down the side of your back from the shoulders to just under the ribs and when developed look like a cobra from behind. For your lats you will be doing two exercises and two only. These are the kind of lats development and are all you need for now.

1. The pull up or chin up
The pull up or the chin up is the best exercise there is for developing your lats. If you have underdeveloped back muscles it is very likely you will not be able to do many chin ups. Most people at my gym use the assisted chin up machine because a regular chin is too hard. This is weak.

When you are doing the chin up you should do it as slow as possible and by tensing the back muscles throughout the whole movement. Make sure the decline is slower than the incline. You should imagine you are pulling with your elbows as this will allow you to target the lats much better.

Once you can do a few sets of 10-15 reps you should start adding weight to your waist when you do the exercise. This is the number one best method of developing a huge back.

2. Bent over rows
The next exercise you can use for developing huge lats is the bent over row. This is like a weights version of the chin up and targets the lats and rhomboids really well.

Again, make sure you start off with a light weight and get the technique working really well. Lift with your elbows. Squeeze the muscles at the top of the movement. Stretch them at the bottom. Keep your head facing up and make sure your back is straight. This is very important.

Getting huge rhomboids

Second in your workout you want to hit the rhomboids and the traps. They are hard to isolate so you need to work them in big compound movements.

1. The deadlift
The deadlift is the king of bodybuilding exercises. It works all of your back, shoulders as well as legs and abs. However, it is really good at hitting the inner and upper back and makes for some huge mass if done right.

The deadlift is not easy to do though. It takes years of practice and supervision. Start out with a light weight again and work your way up. Make sure you are tensing your back muscles at the top of the motion. For safety’s sake many people place the bar on the ground at the bottom of each repetition.

I highly recommend everyone reads up as much as possible on the deadlift as they can. You do not want to take this exercise lightly.

Here is a video of our man Ronnie Coleman doing a big deadlift.

2. The lying bar row
The next exercise we will do is the lying bar row. This is where you lay face down on a bench with the barbell underneath the bar. You then do a “reverse bench press” style movement by lifting the bar to your chest or upper stomach. Often at the gym you can hear the bar crunching into the bottom of the bench as the big guys pump out set after set of these.

Experiment with different grips and different widths. Again, take it slow and make each lift controlled.

How many sets should I do?

I get asked this question all the time. How many reps and how many sets should I do to get huge? Well, the answer is not as black and white as you might think.

Sometimes when I go to the gym I am on fire. I may have a lot of energy or something but it seems like I could workout for hours. On these days I do more sets than normal - it seems to take more to exhaust my muscles.

It really is up to the individual. If you can do 15 sets without getting too tired and sacrificing good form then you should do it. See how your muscles respond over a few weeks and if it is not working for you, change.

It is important not to overtrain. I like to workout hard and fast for no more than about 45 minutes at a time. If I go longer than that a seem to lose a lot of contraction strength and it is more like I am going through the motions of the exercises as opposed to actually doing them.

So, instead of relying on someone elses guidelines of how many sets and reps why don’t you just load up some heavy bars (when you are ready) and experiment with your own body. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else!

top image:vucut