Kettlebells Thursday, July 02, 2009

So, this week begins my kettlebell workout routine with a friend from work. Yes, I know what you're saying..."what happened to P90X?". It was a fantastic workout, but I stopped doing it when I got the flu at the end of last year. Then, the holidays were upon us and...well, I guess I'm just making excuses. Sorry Christopher!

Christopher was my accountability partner for P90X. We were so serious about making P90X work for us that we even created a blog to catalog our workouts and other random thoughts. We were about as consistent with that as we were with our workouts.

Now, I'm off to the next shiny new thing; Kettlebells. If you've never heard of a kettlebell, imagine a cannonball with a handle on it. Or, if imagining things is too hard for you, just look at the picture to the left. There are literally dozens (maybe even hundreds) of exercises you can do with a kettlebell. Right now, I'm only working on swings (goofy-looking, air-humping, arm swings between your legs) and getups (lie down, hold HEAVY weight above your head and try to stand up while not dropping it on your dome). Check out these videos if you want to see some actual examples of the workouts and techniques. Anybody out there got a workout program that they're doing and seems to be working for them?

Bringing it with Plyometrics and P90X Wednesday, December 03, 2008

In case you didn't already know, I've been doing P90X. It's basically a 90-day workout challenge where you follow these videos for 1 hour every day. I've always had a difficult time staying motivated, but this video has really helped to provide a framework for me. Going to the gym, I was stuck in a routine and felt like I had reached a plateau. P90X provides a great schedule and I've actually enjoyed the workouts so far. Plus, I've got 2 friends who are also doing the program, so that helps with accountability, too.

Yesterday, was day 2 of week 3. The video du jour was Plyometrics, or "jump training". Some say this is the "mother of all workouts". This is the third time I've done this routine and I can honestly say that it's getting easier, but it still kicks my a**.

Here's a little video I put together to show what I put my body through every day. Keep in mind, every one of these exercises lasts 30 seconds (some are 1 minute) and they go back to back with only maybe 8 30-second water breaks in the whole hour workout. Needless to say...it's INTENSE!

P90X - Plyometrics from Erik Luchauer on Vimeo.