Last Friday I finished my first go around of the Art of Strength Enter the Kettlebell workbook. This was an AWESOME program, I highly recommend it to anyone getting start with Kettlebells.
The simplicity of the program is the key. You do 4 kb lifts through the entire thing with a pull of your choice:
- Swings
- Get ups
- Clean and Press
- Snatches
- Pull-ups or One Legged Rows
That is it. Nothing else, just solid compound wickedly effective moves. The progression of reps and time really builds an amazing base of Cardio fitness and strength at the same time.
For my program, I modified the days a touch and did my kettlebell training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then I ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. After the last day of the ETK workbook, I ran 6 miles and could have easily done more. Note to the reader, a few months ago I thought I would die if I tried to run one mile.
Don’t get me wrong here, kettlebells are not the solution to all of your problems. They are only effective if you use them, and use them properly. I’ve started and stopped too many times to count, and when they sit of the floor, they just leave an impression in the carpet – trust me.
I hammered out the Providence DVD today with my 16kg bell and it was a blast! I’m a touch sore, but I’m looking forward to cranking it out again on Wednesday.
As for the ETK – I’m not finished with it forever! After a few months of Providence and the Strength in Motion Workbook, I’m going to come back to the ETK with 24kg and 32kg bells to really rock it out. Last time my swings and snatches were all completed using the 16kg bell (except on the last day, I rocked out the 24kg) and my presses were all with the 24kg. I’m going to up the ante next time and kick it into high gear again!
Oh yeah, and I’m down 35 pounds from when I kicked things back into gear in November.
