Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness

The Fastest 300 In Denver

John Hoot did 300 exactly as it was written by Mark Twight, exactly the same way the actors from the movie did it:

“300”
25x Pull-ups 
50x Deadlift @ 135lbs
50x Push-ups   
50x Floor Wiper @ 135lbs
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36lbs (KB must touch floor between reps)
50x Box Jump @ 24” box
25x Pull-ups
300 reps total

John's time - 19:54

Ok, not exactly the way they did it - the keen observer will notice he accidentally put the box jumps after the clean and presses instead of after the pushups.  Regardless of the order, John did the full 300 reps with the full weights on everything, and the floor wipers.

At 19:54, John's got the fastest time I've seen.  In fact, at 19:54, he's less than two minutes behind Andrew Pleavin, the actor who played Daxos in the movie 300.  Andrew did 300 in 18:11.

Some people have asked me, how many times did John do 300?  He only did it once.  300 wasn't the workout that got him here, it was just a test.  John eats a steady diet of heavy full body movements at high intensity, all the time.

Also check out: Workout Routine Expert Craig Ballantyne does the 300 Workout

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
I'm a specialist in getting my clients lean, fast.  I usually work the hardest clients to lean out - girls who are already in good shape. I like the challenge.  It's actually easier to lean out guys because guys naturally carry more muscle.  My book is about how anyone can get that that lean, rockstar body.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

The 300 Workout - Part 2 - How to do it

This week I had all of my clients do "300 reps", just for fun.  We "scaled" 300 different ways so that everyone could do it.  When I say scale, I mean that we cut the weight, the reps, or even slightly changed the exercises so that it would be the appropriate challenge for everyone.

*One important note about scaling a workout like this:  You can cut down the intensity, but don't change the intention.  In the back of the Men's Health article, Gerard Butler's current trainer (in other words, not the guy that trained him for the movie) mentions you could start with 100 reps and build up - this is a smart way to scale the workout.  He also mentions you could substitute dumbbell curls - this on the other hand, is missing the point of the workout completely.  Dumbbell curls are an isolation exercise, where all of the movements in the 300 workout are full body compound movments.

If you go to the Gym Jones website (and you should), you'll notice that all of the workouts they do are made up of full body, compound movements.   For those that don't know, Gym Jones is the gym run by Mark Twight, where all of the actors from the movie 300 trained for two months solid prior to the movie.  So some of you may be asking, what is a full body compound movement?  I'm glad you asked:  Squats, deadlifts, pullups, pushups, kettlebell cleans, kettlebell snatches, overhead presses.

If you've ever done a heavy deadlifting or squatting workout, you know that it feels completely different from a day when you did heavy leg extensions.  If you do a hard pullup day, it's totally different from doing a hard bicep curl day.  If you really want a body like a Spartan Warrior - you need to be on a first name basis with squats, deadlifts, pullups, and overhead presses.   You'll notice two things that all of these exercises have in common is that they: 1.)  Are technical lifts (they require knowing what you are doing), and 2.) They're really f**king hard.

I'm going to assume you know how to do pullups and pushups.  If you don't know how to deadlift, you need to learn.  I strongly recommend Power to the People, by Pavel Tsatsouline as one of the best books/videos on how to deadlift there is.  Deadlifting isn't easy or simple, but it's worth it.

The 300 workout, as it was done by the actors:

“300”
25x Pull-ups 
50x Deadlift @ 135lbs
50x Push-ups
50x Box Jump @ 24” box 
50x Floor Wiper @ 135lbs
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36lbs (KB must touch floor between reps)
25x Pull-ups
300 reps total

Andrew Pleavin, who played Daxos the leader of the Arcadians, did 300 in 18 minutes.  Savage.

Here is how I scaled it for my strongest clients:

25x Pull-ups 
50x Deadlift @ 100lbs
50x Push-ups
50x Box Jumps @ 12” box 
50x Knees to Elbows
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36lbs 
25x Pull-up
300 reps total

Will did this version of 300 in 52 minutes, Jeff did it in 45 minutes.

I took 300 a couple more steps down for my newer clients:

12x Assisted Pull-ups 
25x Deadlift @ 70-90lbs
25x Push-ups
25x Box Jumps @ 12” box 
25x Sit-ups
30x KB Clean and Press @ 18-26lbs 
12x Assisted Pull-ups 
154 reps total

So this is a look at how a workout like 300 could be scaled to different levels of clients.  All of my clients could make it through the last version.  The important thing was that we preserved the movements, or with the one exception being the "floor wipers", we preserved the intention of the movements. 

Mark Twight mentions on his website that "300 reps" is not a program.  It's not the workout that the actors did.  It was a one time test.  Possibly a rite of passage.  In fact, in the style of Mark's training, they most likely never did the same exact workout twice.

On the flipside, I'll have my clients repeat this kind of workout.  While the actors and crew from 300 had each other to compete with, I work with clients on a one on one basis.  They only really have themselves to compete with.  So we may repeat a workout like 300 again in a month - with the very powerful motivation of doing it faster.  Getting a better "score".  Or if not faster, then doing with heavier weight.

Mark Twight says that he has no patience for assisting non athletes in losing weight.   Their mantra for the movie was that appearance would be a function of fitness, and not the other way around.  So essentially, they trained to have the fitness level Spartan Warriors, and the body and the look came with it.  Mark Twight runs a gym that trains athletes.

I come from the opposite direction, but in with similar methods.  I'm a specialist in getting people lean.  I don't really train people for sport, per se.  My clients come to me because they want to look like rockstars.  I train them like athletes simply because I've found that is the best way to get them the body they want. 

If you want that body and that strength, you must do full body athletic movements, like deadlifts, squats, kettlebell clean and presses, pullups, ect.

If you aren't familiar with full body lifitng, get this book/dvd:

If you haven't been to the gym Jones website and read Mark Twight's article: 300: The So Called Workout, you have to check that out.  Straight from the source.  In fact, if you really want to get a flavor for the training, I recommend reading the entire knowledge section of the Gym jones website, and to watch all of the videos.  It's the next best thing to driving out to Salt Lake City and standing on the porch.

Also check out: What happens when girls do 300?

You can read my first article on the 300 workout here: Frank Miller movie 300 actor training - The 300 Workout

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
I'm a specialist in getting my clients lean, fast.  I usually work the hardest clients to lean out - girls who are already in good shape. I like the challenge.  It's actually easier to lean out guys because guys naturally carry more muscle.  My book is about how anyone can get that that lean, rockstar body.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

 

Military Says Long Slow Runs Cause Injuries, Don't Increase Fitness

Check out this article from army.mil/news

Military Downplaying Long Runs, Adopting More Diverse Fitness Programs
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/02/26/1986-military-playing-down-long-runs-adopting-more-diverse-fitness-programs/
 
Ok, so I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version here:

"If a little bit of running is good for keeping warfighters in top form, then a lot of running is better, right? "Wrong!" say officials here at the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine."

"We're not going soft," Bullock said. "What we're doing is increasing the intensity of the training, and the effect on heart, lungs and overall strength is actually better."

"Higher-intensity, shorter-distance runs and interval training increase troops' speed and stamina with less risk of injuries, he said. At the same time, this more balanced approach to PT actually improves their ability to perform in combat."

Shorter, faster runs get a thumbs up from girls in camo bikinis.

So we know that long slow runs suck for fat loss, and that the best way to lose fat is short, intense cardio sessions.  Now we know that long slow runs also suck for fitness.  Now while you might not be training for military readiness - you are going to be more fit for any task you need to perform by doing short fast intense cardio.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES),
and currently studing the Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES)˚ credential.
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor (RKC)* and Combat Applications Specialist (RKC2/CAS)

*RKC certified 2004-2006, registered to recertify 2007
˚NASM-CES will be completed 2007

© Joshua Hillis 2007

The Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6) Workout

"What we will be calling on is blunt force trauma ... Let's start building some hurting bombs ..."

Rocky's trainer (Apollo Creed's old trainer) basically tells him: You're too slow.  You can't spar.  All we've got is to build power and to build strength.  Let's take a look at how they do that.

What they don't do is bodybuild.  No machines.  No isolation movements like bicep curls or tricep kickbacks.  No leg curls, no leg extensions.  None of that "just for show" bodybuilding crap.

If you're a fighter, or if you just want to get into "fighting shape", you absolutely have to check into full body lifts like the clean and jerk and the snatch.  Doesn't matter if you use kettlebells or barbells (Rocky uses both) or even dumbbells and sandbags.   You've got to checkin into strongman style conditioning.  It's all about learning to use your whole body as a unit.  Learning to use every muscle in your body to generate strength and power in coordination.  One resource I definately recommend for learning how to put it all together is Undergroung Strength Coach.

Check out these other posts:

Fan Edited Rocky Training Clip (from "Rocky 6" and "The Contender")

Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6) Trailer

Actor Training for movie "300" (about 300 Spartans fight hundreds of thousands of Persians at the battle of Thermopylae)

Frank Miller movie 300 actor training - The 300 Workout

Not your average workout: Tire flipping, jumping, sprints with a jumpstretch band, runs with kettlebells, turkish get ups with kettlebells, medicine ball throwing, kipping pullups, bear crawls, tuck sits on gymnastics rings, barbell thrusters.  Real, oldschool, brutal - full body movements.

You'll notice they aren't doing any curls or tricep extensions, no machines, no pussy bodybuilding "watch yourself in the mirror exercises" crap.  It takes real world strength to flip tires and do pullups and squats and sprints.  Essentially, the actors were training for performance - and the look came with it. 

The average celebrity trainer would have trained the actors to look like Spartan Warriors - Mark Twight put the actors in 300 through workouts that would create the kind of strength and power they would need to be Spartan Warriors.

If you're not up on Mark Twight's gym, Gym Jones, you should check it out.  It's a trip.  Mark is a world class extreme alpinist.  He climbs mountains that no one else in the world has ever climbed before.  Ok, I'll do my best to sum up Mark's workout philisophy, as I understand it:  Mark believes that there is something that happens on a mountain - when you are totally exhausted and when your life is on the line - that strips away all of the pretense of our modern existance and all that is left is your humanity.  That only through pushing yourself to the absolute limit do you truly find out who you are.  He strives to create workouts that have that same kind of impact.  Hence the Gym Jones tagline: "Power, Speed, Endurance, Suffering and Salvation".

The now legendary "300 Reps Workout", a.k.a. "Spartans, tonight we dine in hell!"

25 pullups, 50 deadlifts with 135 pounds, 50 pushups, 50 jumps on a 24-inch box, 50 floor wipers, 50 single-arm clean-and-presses using a 36-pound kettlebell, and 25 more pullups.

A common misconception is that they did this workout over and over again.  Mark Twight isn't in to repeating workouts often with his athletes.  In fact, most of the workouts were probably randomzied.  They very rarely, if ever, would they do the same workout twice. 

The idea is to do this workout for time - and if you did ever go through the hell of repeating a workout, to try and beat your time from before.  Like a race.  Speed, power and intensity are the keys here. Ideally you'd complete the circuits in around 20 minutes.

"The 300 Reps Workout" should give you a little bit of a flavor of the workouts the actors from 300 did at Gym Jones.

"You know that every bead of sweat falling off your head, every weight you've pumped -- the history of that is all in your eyes," says Gerard Butler, who played King Leonidas. "That was a great thing, to put on that cape and put on that helmet, and not have to think, Shit, I should have trained more. Instead, I was standing there feeling like a lion."

How To Get Started Training Like One of the 300

Ok, so lets say you want that "spartan warrior" kind of strength - If you are new to full body lifts, you may be wondering where to start.  Kettlebells?  Bodyweight?  Sandbags?  Tires?  Gymnastics rings?  Hey I'd grab on to any one of them that you can get good instruction on.

Without a doubt, the best way (if you've got the nuts) would be to go to Gym Jones and stand on the porch - just like Fight Club.

If you're too far from Salt Lake to train at Gym Jones, then here is where to start:  Start off with 50 or 100 reps of the 300 workout.  Done at speed, 100 reps is easily enough to crush the average gym goer - so take it easy the first time.  You can push the pace and increase the reps after a couple months.  And I wouldn't do this exact workout more than once a week.  My preference would be to do it even less often than that - to use it as a test once a month.

You're probably pretty familiar with pullups, box jumps, and pushups - so lets get you some solid instruction on the hardcore full body lifts you may not be good at - the kettlebell clean and press and the deadlift.  Both exercises that you need to learn how to do correctly. 

If you aren't familiar with solid full body lifting, you have a few choices: 1.) Fly out to Gym Jones.  2.) Get some personal coaching from a Powerlifter, Olympic Weightlifter, Strongman, or Highland Games Athlete, 3.) Get some solid instructional material. You absolulely need to learn to do full body lifting if you want to take on workouts like "300".

Enter the kettlebell is literally an entire book on the kettlebell clean and press.
-  In The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove, they talk about that the only study that Lou has ever seen where athletes lost fat and gained muscle at the same time the athletes used only snatches and clean and jerks and their variations.  Enter the Kettlebell teaches the kettlebell clean, press and snatch - essential full body lifts.

Power to the People is literally the best video there is on deadlifting:
-deadlifts are absolutely essential to the 300 reps workout.  Deadlifts are one of the best exercises there is if you want that Spartan Warrior look - and if you want to really be as strong as you look.  Deadlift correctly = get the body.  Deadlift incorrectly = jack your back up in a bad way.  You need to learn how to do it right.

Check out: The 300 Workout: Part 2

 

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
I'm a specialist in getting my clients lean, fast.  I usually work the hardest clients to lean out - girls who are already in good shape.  I like the challenge.  It's actually easier to lean out guys because guys naturally carry more muscle.  My book is about how anyone can get that that lean, rockstar body.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

 

Kettlebells for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

A question I recently recieved about kettlebells and BJJ.

Q:well, maybe you can just answer this: it seems there is a limited number of chest exercises with kettlebells. is that true? also, what are the pros/cons of doing the full body workouts i see so much three times a week or so, vs concentrating on one area (push, pull, legs, or wahtever) per day?

A:The benefit of full body workouts is this - in BJJ you need full body strength all the time.  You don't need a strong chest today and strong legs tomorrow. 

Sadly, deadlifting on tuesday and running four miles on thursday means that your strength is seperated.  If you were in a situation where you needed to run a mile, deadlift, then run a mile and deadlift, you would be puking your guts out.  BJJ is more like the second example than the first.  You need to be pushing, pulling, squating - all repeatedly, mostly explosively, often under cardiovascular stress, in five minute bursts.  So why wouldn't you train exactly like that?

Kettlebells have no chest exercises.  You want to work your chest - then bench and do pushups.  Kettlebells are about building explosive power with your whole body, from the ground up.  They are also about conditioning.

Just because I use kettlebells does not mean that I only use kettlebells.  They are a tool, and a very good and unique tool.  But there are lots of tools.  Like sandbags and barbells.  If you think kettlebells are good, mix in some sandbag training.

Here is the thing about kettlebells - they will never make any sense at all until you train with them.  Buy yourself "Enter the Kettlebell" by Pavel, and just start doing it.  Use a dumbbell to start.  Everything will make sense once you start doing it.

What is a "kipping" pullup?

Kipping pullups are to strict weighted pullups.

What box jumps are to barbell squats.

They're a completely different exercise.

If I have a day where I do barbell front squats, straight legged deadlifts, weighted dips and weighted pullups, that would be a strength day.

If I had a day where I was doing box jumps, clapping pushups, kipping pullups, and kettlebell swings - all in sets of 30, in circuits - you could call that a strength endurance day. Or "cardio".

Kipping Pullups and 300

Kipping pullups have been most recently made famous by Gym Jones, training the actors for the movie 300.  The legendary "300 workout" is bracketed by two sets of 'em - 25 kipping pullups start the workout and 25 kipping pullups finish it. 

Kipping pullups were one of the uncommon exercises that the 300 workout introduced people to.  The other two exercises most people had never seen before were floor wipers and kettlebell clean and presses.

The 300 workout is a good context for the kind of workout that would use kipping pullups - a brutal full body circuit workout.

Kipping Pullups - How To Do 'Em:

A kipping pullup, done correctly, is more than just kicking your feet wildly and flopping around on your way up to the pullup bar.  A correctly done kipping pullup is fluid and powerful. 

While a kipping pullup is easier on your direct pulling muscles, it's much harder on your grip and it's much more cardiovascular.  It's a full body movement where you generate power at your hips - a similar use of the legs and hips to a kettlebell swing or a barbell snatch - just the opposite direction.

A kipping pullup is a pullup with a variation on the gymnastics kip.

The pullup kip differs greatly from the gymnastics kip in that the pullup kip you lead with your shoulders as much as your hips, while you throw your feet behind you.  The gymnastics kip leads with the hips and feet.  Both have a piking motion where you throw your feet up and forward while snapping your hips back.

The bigggest mistake that most people make in the pullup kip is letting their legs swing forward with their hips.  WHEN YOUR HIPS ARE FORWARD, YOUR FEET MUST BE BACK.  Likewise, if your feet are forward, your hips must be back.  This is the single biggest mistake people make when they are first learning the kip - they let their whole body - shoulders, hips, legs, arms - swing forward at the same time.

One way to think about it is that your hips and shoulders are always on the opposite side of the pullup bar from your feet.  Your body should either be forward in like a half moon shape (feet and hands back), or your body should be in a half moon shape the other way - shoulder and hips back (feet and hands forward).  I recommend spending a fair amount of time with your feet on a box and your hands on a pullup bar (like Eva's video below) just pushing your body back and forth and keeping your hands and feet in exactly the same place.  It's how you will get a feeling for the movement.  Every time you let something slip, come back to that drill.

All of these links come from CrossFit.  CrossFit is an organization that, more than anyone else I can think of, truly championed the oft maligned kipping pullup.  The first two links are absolutely essential for anyone interesting in doing kipping pullups with any amount of style, flow, and grace.

Eva T. Teaches Kipping
This link is a MUST if you want to learn the kipping pullup.

CrossFit's Greg Glassman discusses Kipping Pullup Concepts

CrossFit London Pullup Article

The CrossFit Community Discusses Kipping at length

More Functional Movement -

Kettlebell Training:

Advanced Bodyweight Training:

Weight Training and Cross Training for Runners: Myth vs. Fact

Most runners who lift weights do it wrong.  If you do it right, lifting will make you faster, stronger, more balanced, and more resistant to injury.

Most runners I've met do routines that are totally derivative of bodybuilding, and they do it with super light weights – for “endurance”.  Even worse, most runners I've met “don't lift legs” because they “get enough work on their legs running”.  It's not their fault, it's just that in the fitness world most “common knowledge” is exactly the opposite of what actually works.

Myth #1: If I run, I've got my legs taken care of.

The truth is that if all you do is run, at some point you are bound to develop running specific muscle imbalances.  I've trained four marathon runners and a half marathon runner who all had hurting knees because running specific muscle imbalances were pulling their knee caps off to the side.  Do your knees hurt?  We can fix that.

What to Do:

A good balance of squats, lunges, one legged squats, and deadlifts will give your legs a great balance of strength. 

If you compete as a runner, you'd do well to mix it up with all of these movements in the off season, up to three times per week.  For any sport, the off season is the time to do some lifting contrary to your normal training, to balance out muscle imbalances, and to give your body a rest from your normal training.  During the competitive season you could back off to once a week, and stop weight training completely during the championship stretch and the end of your taper.

If you don't compete, you could lift a couple times per week year round.  Or you could have a virtual season where you run more, and an off season where you cross train and lift more, and run less.  The human body responds really well to cycling of intensity and adaptation, and you can find that doing these “virtual seasons” in your training will not only make you a better runner, but it helps to keep training fun and interesting.

Myth #2: I know how to lift weights – 3 sets of 10, curls, tricep kickbacks, leg press, ect.

Step away from the mirror!  Watching yourself do bicep curls and isolating that bicep will do you no good.  Many of the standard gym exercises like curls and tricep kickbacks do a very little  for sports performance.  Anything done on a machine is totally worthless for a runner, unless it's for rehab purposes.  Don't even get me started on the leg press machine.

What to Do:

First, do just about everything with free weights.  Second, focus on movements, not muscles.  The whole idea of “working my bicepts” is a bodybuilding idea, that has nothing to do with running.  Athletics has to do with working in coordinated movements, which is the opposite of isolating muscles.

You want to look at the six basic human movement patterns, and base your weight training around them.  The movements are:

1.)Squat (squats, lunges, deadlifts, jumps, kettlebell Swings)
2.)Push (pushups, bench press, dips)
3.)Pull (pullups, rows, rope climbs)
4.)Twist (cable rotations, full contact twists, hitting a heavy bag)
5.)Bend (deadlift, back extension, ball slam, hitting a tire with a sledge hammer, kettlebell Swings)
6.)Run (you've got this one covered)

Find a powerlifter or Olympic Weightlifter to teach you how to squat correctly, and then say “no” to the leg press machine forever.

Myth #3: Weight Training Will Make Me Big And Bulky

Not with all the running you are doing.  Distance running is extremely catabolic, meaning it breaks down muscle.  You aren't going to put on any extra bulk if you're doing much running at all.  In fact if running over 30 miles per week, it's probably impossible to add any bulk.

And then there is the other side.  What if you are a marathon runner and you want to add some muscle, what do you do?  Well, for starters, stop running marathons.  Cut down on your distance, and start doing more sprinting.  Ever see a 200 meter runner or a 400 meter runner?  What is the difference between a sprinter's body and a marathon runner's body?  About 20lbs of muscle. 

What to Do:

If you want the best of both worlds, train on a four day cycle: 1.) Distance Run, 2.) Speed Work at the Track, 3.) Weight Training, 4.) Rest.  Rinse and repeat.  You can be the rare runner with endurance, speed, and muscle.

Myth #4: Weight Training Won't Help My Running

Weight training, when done right, can not only make you faster, it can also be great cross training for endurance.  And you've probably guessed by now that my routine for endurance does not consist of bicep curls for 30 reps.

One of the best ways to do weight training in a way that will add speed and endurance to a runner is to do workouts “for time”.  What I mean is to have a certain amount of work to do, and then set a stopwatch to time how long it takes to complete it, like a race.  The alternate version is to have a set time limit, and to see how many times you can complete a circuit in that time limit.

Example:
how many rounds can you complete in 25 minutes, of :
250 Meter Row
10 Burpees
5 Split Squats each leg
50 yard bear crawl

You'll notice when you do this workout that not only are your muscles getting a workout, but that it's extremely cardiovascular.  Being a runner, you'll actually be shocked how cardiovascular this workout is.  The majority of people working out can't do 4 rounds in 25 minutes.

The cardiovascular nature of this workout will spill over into your running, making this every bit as good an option for crosstraining as swimming or biking is.  The push/pull/squat action will do an amazing job of balancing out your running specific muscle imbalances (squats) and the runner's natural upper body weakness (with the pushups in the burpees and pulling action in the rowing).   Prepare to look hotter, feel stronger running, and sprint faster.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES)
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor (RKC) and Combat Applications Specialist (RKC/CAS)
www.joshsgaragedenver.com

© Joshua Hillis 2006

When Your Forearms Hurt Doing Kettlebell Snatches

As far as DVDs go - I just got the Kettlebell Basics for Strength Coaches and Personal Trainers by Brett Jones - it is THE best instructional DVD for learning the fine points of the kettlebell moves I have ever seen by far. I strongly recommend it.

1.) Keep in mind people have broken their forearms doing snatches - but only CrossFitters. Most people don't have the strength to hurt themselves like that, but CrossFitters totally have the strength and the hip drive to hurt themselves with kettlebells.

2.) Work on the swing, work on the swing, work on the swing. Make sure you are using absolutely no arms at all. Work on wedging yourself between the bell and the ground. Try to swing the bell to a certain height using 50% energy, then try to swing it to the same height using more and less energy. This is a drill that will give you a really amazing feel for swinging the bell. Get to a point where you are really comfortable with head high swings. Really look at projecting the kbell up so that it's weightless right above head level - and no higher. If you swing with the power to put it full overhead (like CrossFit's "American Swing") you are look to get smacked pretty hard when the kettlebell flips over.

3.) The "putting on a sweater" analogy people use sucks. I still don't get it.

4.) The kettlebell should not flip over your hand. I repeat: The kettlebell DOES NOT ROTATE AROUND YOUR HAND. The kettlebell gets weightless, and your hand ROTATES AROUND THE BELL. THat is the secret to punching up. The kbell is weightless and you punch under it.

5.) Try corkscrewing the kettlebell around your hand, like in a clean. The way to learn the clean is to start with the kettlebell in the racked position and then JUST drop it between your legs. Follow the same groove back up.

6.) A lot of fore-arm bruises come from weird things that happen when you muscle the weight up with your arms, instead of project it up with your hips. You need to project it up with your hips so that it gets weightless right above head level.

By Josh Hillis
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Combat Applications Specialist
CrossFit Level II Trainer
and
currently studying National Academy of Sports Medicine Sports Fitness Specialist
www.joshsgaragedenver.com

Kettlebell-CrossFit: The Best of Both Worlds

Since this article was so librally (mis)quoted lately, I felt I should add this nifty little intro.  This article was really all about my training style, a year and a half ago.  At that time, I really was unique: Imagine me having my clients do CrossFit's "Fran" with two kettlebells for the thrusters, in the middle of a 24 Hour Fitness.  These days there are a lot more people combining kettlebells and crossfit, but still not in commercial gyms. 

My training philosophy has evolved into something completely different from either one.  If you read the last part of the article, it leads into what my training is all about now.  Right now what I'm most stoked about is a recent trip to California where I learned how to do flips on the traveling rings at the old muscle beach.  If you're not familiar with "traveling rings", I wrote an article about it when I first heard about it.  Check it out.   These days I'm all about fitness being the most fun part of your day.

Ok, that's enough intro, here's the origional article:

The best of both worlds

I’m a little unusual.  Every day I combine the Russian Kettlebell Challenge program with the CrossFit program.  There are probably a dozen people in the world who really combine both programs, and I gaurantee I'm the only one who does it with clients in a commercial gym.  It gives me a unique perspective on blending programs. 

The RKC and CrossFit Differ in Intent and Focus:

The RKC Program
1.) The main focus of the RKC program is technique over program design.
2.) In the RKC Program safety is viewed as part of performance.

The CrossFit Program
1.) Program design is the main focus.
2.) Power output is the main goal above all else.

Much has been made about how different the two programs are.  This is not a bad thing.  If peanut butter and jelly were both the same, why would you put both on the same sandwich?  The reasons they are different is why they compliment each other. 

CrossFit’s biggest contribution: “For Time”

CrossFit introduced the idea of reducing every variable in fitness (strength, muscle endurance, endurance, power, skill) to one variable, time.  They have workouts with variable, but preset loads and reps.  To reduce the amount of time it takes you to complete the workout, you must increase multiple variables at the same time.

Origionally, I believed that this form of “cardio” training, or circuit training wouldn’t benefit me, with my endurance background.  I figured what I really needed was more strength.  Experience has shown that it is actually the reverse, that the strongest athletes do best in the CrossFit style stimulous.  This has lead CrossFit Coach Mike Rutherford to introduce “Black Box ME CrossFit”.  To drastically simplify the idea, it’s CrossFit with strength days more often.

Where the RKC Program Comes In

Nobody does strength like the RKC Program.  The biggest contribution that Pavel has made to the world is teaching people tension.  Tension equals strength.  Tension equals safety.

On strength days, the all of the Power to the People and Naked Warrior rules come into play: Squeeze the bar, corkscrew your feet, squeeze your butt, wedge yourself between the bar and the ground, keep your sets and reps low.  This is THE way to build strength.

Kettlebell-CrossFit

CrossFit is all about doing the Olympic Lifts with light weights and high repetitions.  This IS kettlebell conditioning.  Kettlebells were made for high rep snatches and high rep clean and jerks.  The kettlebell is the IDEAL tool for CrossFit.  In fact, all you really need for your “garage gym” is a couple kettlebells and a pullup bar.

How Do I Know the Best Mix of Strength Days to Metabolic Conditioning Days?

Probably the best answer is to listen to your body.  Some people follow crossfit.com’s 3 on 1 off schedule to the “T”.  Steve Maxwell has mentioned that with his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he can only hit the metabolic conditioning hard maybe once or twice a week tops. 

How Hard Should I Push It On Metabolic Conditioning Days?

Ok, I know at CrossFit they joke about Pukie.  I know in the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Book Pavel talks about workouts being “a puker”.  You don’t actually need to puke.  If you do puke, then maybe you should wait more than five minutes after dinner before you do that workout.

Once again, it comes down to listening to your body.  Steve Maxwell mentions on his Grappler’s Workout DVD that some days you can really push it, and other days you just “survive for time”.  No one can survive pushing all out balls to the wall all the time.  A possible rule of thumb would be to hit most of your metabolic workouts at 80-90%, and go all out 100% balls to the wall once or twice a month. 

Most importantly, listen to your body.

How Often Should I do Strength Days?

As often as possible.  Just keep the sets and reps low, and stay fresh.  Don’t wear yourself out.  Don’t think of your strength days like a workout.  Think of your strength days as practice.

Tension takes practice, and focus.  Tension equals strength.

Leave some reps in the bank every day.  Stay fresh.  Listen to your body.

How Will This Serve My Sports Performance?

Blending the RKC Program and the CrossFit Program will serve your sports performance if you are always aware that you are using the programs to serve your sport.  The Challenge with CrossFit is that it is easy to make it into a sport all by itself.  Resist the temptation. 

Coach Glassman has said that CrossFit is not the “Workout of the Day”, it is simply “Constantly varied, functional movement, at high intensity”.  What that means to you is that you can scale it to fit your needs.  You might cut the sets and reps in half.  You may alter the weight.  You can design your own metabolic workout.  Usually what it means is doing significantly less volume than someone who only CrossFits.

One of the biggest benefits of the strength protocols from the RKC Program is that you could definitely get away with “practicing strength” on the same day or alternate days as your sports practice without it hurting your performance.  Strength training done the RKC way won’t leave you sore before your skill practice.

Why Do You Blend the Two Progams?

Because it’s fun.  Seriously, life is too short for me to do a training program that I don’t enjoy.  The first time I ever snatched a kettlebell, I was in love.  The first time I ever did CrossFit’s “Fran”, I was hooked.

The two programs both share true functional movement.  True functional movement is more fun than bodybuilding nonsense because of the complexity of functional movement.  Dumbed down training is boring for the same reason that tic-tack-toe is boring, it’s actually too simple.  Strength training that requires skill is like Chess - it never gets old.  There is always another level, another nuance.  You could say the same thing about the snatch. 

The relative complexity of it is what makes it fun.  It’s the same reason that a kettlebell snatch is more fun than a kettlebell swing.  And both are more fun than a tricep kickback.

Metabolic conditioning is fun because you get to push yourself.  There is a challenge to it. Strength training is fun because there is something inherently satisfying about ripping big weights off the floor.  What do they both have in common?  People just like to do them.  Have some fun!  Lighten up!  If anyone emails me about kipping pull-ups vs. tactical pull-ups, this is my answer.  I do them both because they are both fun, and they serve different things.

Wait, What About Elite Performance?

What about it?  Both programs are known for that.  Blend them intelligently, and you’ll get the best of both worlds.  And you just might have more fun also.

The Best Part of Blending the RKC Program and CrossFit

To straddle two similar but different worlds, it forces you to think.  To be in the middle causes you to question everything.  You will not have the luxury of taking Pavel’s word for it.  You can’t just get high on CrossFit Kool Aid.  Sometimes real brilliance emerges out of the heated debates between the two communities.  Sometimes you aren’t sure where it stands until the dust settles and you take some time to look at what’s going on and what you’re about. 

Arguably, the most powerful part of combining the two programs is figuring out in your head how and why you would do that.  If you coach and train others you have to look at whether or not your clients really need this.  If you spend some time really hanging out at the Dragon Door Forum and the CrossFit Forum, at one time or another both sides will force you to question things you have thus far taken as absolute truth.  The process of questioning those truths is what takes you to places you’ve never been before, and allows you to learn things you might not have otherwise been open to.

Josh Hillis is an RKC, attended the RKC Combat Applications Specialist Seminar, a Level 2 CrossFit Trainer, and an NASM-CPT.  Josh is a personal trainer in Denver, CO, and can be reached at www.joshsgaragedenver.com.

Appendix:

Metabolic Workouts:

Some of the CrossFit Workouts known for high intensity:
1.) Fran
2.) Fight Gone Bad
3.) Murph
4.) Cindy
5.) Karen

Some of the RKC Workouts known for high intensity
1.) High Octane Cardio
2.) DOE ManMaker Workouts
3.) Steve Maxwell’s Grappler’s Workout
4.) The Maxercise Metabolic Meltdown
5.) The Secret Service Snatch Test

Strength Protocols:

1.) Power to the People, by Pavel Tsatsouline
2.) The Naked Warrior, by Pavel Tsatsouline
3.) The Coach’s Strength Training Playbook, by Joe Kenn.
4.) The Performance Menu, Issue #3, April 2005

By Josh Hillis
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer
National Academy of Sports Medicine Performance Enhancement Specialist
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Combat Applications Specialist
CrossFit Level II Trainer
www.joshsgaragedenver.com

© Joshua Hillis 2006