BodyRock Workout #36: A Full Body Kettlebell Workout
Hi BodyRockers,
I got up early today and walked over to Coach J’s place in a neighbourhood called ‘Gas Town’ in downtown Vancouver. It’s a charming, historic district with brick sidewalks right off of the Pacific Ocean, where Cruise Ships often come to dock. Just giving you guys a little local colour. As I’ve mentioned, Vancouver is by far the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived. Something to be grateful for every single day.
I’m not just waxing poetic, being grateful for the simple beauty around you is a great way to keep yourself in a state of gratitude. Gratitude is important when things get tough, because when it feels like you are facing down the whole world and everyone is on your back, it can be hard to access any other feelings but sadness and stress. If you can find a minute to be appreciative of something - your surroundings, nature, a flower growing, or leaves waving in a warm breeze - it allows something else in. The other thing that you can do is move your body and find in that ability (no mater how basic or limited your current range of motion feels) the basic gratitude that you are alive, here on this planet, and able to chose motion. There are a lot of people that don’t even have that.
We become what we think about all day long, so keep that in mind, and tell yourself something positive before you start today’s workout. Go ahead, we will wait.
Today’s realtime workout (press play and follow along):
The Workout Breakdown:
Today we are doing 3 rounds of 4 exercises for a total of 12 Minutes. Each exercise interval will be 45 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest, in which time you can grab a sip of water and get yourself ready for the next exercise. We are also starting this workout off with a short dynamic warm up. I’m not going to lie, this warm up feels epic first thing in the morning, I mean it feels so good that it actually put me in the mood to exercise. Thats saying something, so enjoy your warm up.
The Workout Gear:
Today we are using the BodyRock 20lbs Kettlebell, the 8lbs BodyRock Weighted Vest, and our extra think, extra plush, HIIT Exercise Mat to make things more comfortable on our joints, and for our floor work.
The other thing that I wanted to quickly mention is to pay attention to Coach J’s breathing cues. There is definitely a method to the madness when it comes to your breathing and exercise, and many of us (myself included) tend to hold our breath when breathing the right way, with the right timing, makes everything a lot easier. Don’t get too worried about that right now, but as always, keep your awareness on your body, on the muscles that we are targeting, and of course, pay attention to any issues around your breath. A lot of lets call it the ‘alignment’ of your breathing and movements will gradually start to come together as you progress and maintain a consistent BodyRocking habit.
We are smashing out these exercises:
Jana is wearing the 8lbs BodyRock Weighted Vest, so if you are strapping one of those, you can try this movement without the Kettlebell, or you can even drop down to bodyweight only. Adding the extra weight will have a massive impact of your overall burn, so we suggest at least vesting up for this movement.
2. Bent over Kettlebell Rows.
If you don’t have access to weights, then grab 2 water bottles or 2 large cans from your pantry). Keep this exercise controlled on the rows, both on the way up and down. People trend to almost drop their weights back down and use the force of gravity to reset, but what we want to be doing is resisting the whole time.
3. Dead Bug Kettlebell Extensions.
Keep this exercise slow and controlled as well. You can also bend the knees to make this movement easier. If the full extension is too much for you, experiment with the knee bend until you arrive at a place where you are feeling challenged, but the exercise is achievable.
4. Kettlebell Swings.
This is one of the best full body exercises that exist period. It’s so great that a lot of Coaches say that if they could only pick one exercise to do for the rest of their lives, the Kettlebell swing would be it. With that in mind, Coach J demonstrates how NOT to do a KB swing, and to be honest, it looks like the way 99% of KB swings are done. So pay attention to how she schools this exercise so that you can get the full benefits of this phenomenal exercise.
Christmas.
That’s right, I said the word. This year, we are aiming to give ourselves the present of our best self. Believe it or not, if you are willing to get serious now, and start showing up for these short but powerfully efficient daily workouts, we can get you in the best shape of your life for Christmas morning. Forget starting January 1st, your next birthday, when you turn 40 (insert number here). Forget gaining another 10-15 lbs over the extended holiday season. Forget the gym, forget some crazy diet. If you start showing up for these daily workouts, you will have a very different Christmas Day, and it will be the best present that you’ve ever given yourself. So yes, it’s still summer, and even thinking about the leaves turning colour gives me the ick. But Christmas this year can be you in a dramatically transformed body that is leaner, stronger, athletic, sexy and far more capable physically than ever before.
Two things:
1. Pick up a membership to BodyRockPlus.com, our fitness streaming app. It’s like having our trainers and our workouts in your back pocket. Access the workouts on any screen or any device - including Roku, AppleTv, Amazon, Android etc. It’s the best deal out there for $99 per year, and it’s crazy good when you use code: NY22 and get the full year for just $69.99. For reference, thats the cost of about 2-3 spin classes, vs. a daily training program with elite coaches for an entire year.
2. Text us at 1-775-254-9738. The text is free, and it gets you on our workout list. Every time that we release a new workout, you will get a simple text alert, with a link to workout. It’s a free alert, and you can cancel it at anytime. The people that receive our workout alerts are over 77% more likely to stay consistent and not miss their training. It’s a simply yet powerful reminder.
Once we get you moving, we are going to work on a simple approach to food that will help you finally take control of your eating habits. We will also work on your sleep, and stress levels. All of this will get covered and re-covered in the up-coming weeks and months.
This is a reset. It’s a reset at a time when literally no one else is even thinking about their fitness goals. Gyms are empty in August. Everyone has a lot of other things on their minds. It might even sound crazy, but if you want it by Christmas, if you want to get out ahead of it all and make 2022 the year that you finally made it happen, this is when the ship is getting ready to sail. We can make it happen. Don’t miss this cruise.
Best,
Freddy.