Joint Mobility by Steve Maxwell

The "Coach" Steve Maxwell has a new Joint Mobilty Movement Series for instant download over at Maxwellsc.com.

I bought the 3 level package which includes a beginner, intermediate and advanced joint mobility workout series. Absolutely worth every penny for anyone who needs to feel better and recharge, you will want this series and best of all it is a instant download.

Get over to Maxwellsc.com to check it out.

Here is a article Steve wrote about joint mobility that is posted on his site.

Mobility Training May Be the Most Important Factor in Musculoskeletal Health
By Steve Maxwell

Mobility, or joint mobility, is the ability to move a limb through the full range of motion--with control. Mobility is based on voluntary movement while flexibility involves static holds and is often dependent upon gravity or passive forces. Mobility demands strength to produce full-range movement, whereas flexibility is passive, thus not strength-dependent. Some authorities refer to mobility as 'active flexibility'. It is possible to have good mobility without being especially flexible, just as one can be flexible with poor mobility, i.e., control. Of the two, mobility is more important. It is better to be inflexible with good mobility than flexible with poor mobility. The percent difference between your mobility and flexibility is the same percent chance of creating a musculo-skeletal injury during physical activities.

Sports, recreational activities and other daily physical practices can result in reduced range of movement in any participating joint. When the joint is unable to move through its full range, we call it compromised. When compromised movement is present in a joint, surrounding joints take up the slack, creating extra stress all around. A typical example are immobile ankles and feet underlying stress and injury to the knees, hips, and lumbar spine. It's a cascade effect, albeit in reverse: the body tissues are held together with sheets of connective tissue called fascia, so stress extends upwards from the feet. Poor mobility in one area can cause pain and stress in seemingly unrelated areas, but once fascial anatomy is understood, the idea that immobile feet could cause neck or shoulder stiffness is no longer a conundrum.

Mobility work reduces the potential body imbalances inherent in our athletic and recreational pursuits. For example, it's widely accepted that running for distance shortens the hamstrings, calf muscles and hip flexors, resulting in decreased free movement in simple full-range exercises, such as bodyweight squats. Well-documented is the compromised range produced by heavy weight-lifting and body building strength sports--yet, properly conducted, weight training can improve range of motion! All too often, in practice, weight lifters endow themselves with tight, restrictive movement by over emphasizing short-range movements and excessive hypertrophy. Worse, especially in the U.S., is that ubiquitous non-activity: sitting. Sitting in a chair, at a desk, while hunching over a computer is a recipe for a compromised structure full of imbalance and continual pain.

The solution? A joint mobility program. Joint mobility exercise stimulates and circulates the synovial fluid in the bursa, which 'washes' the joint. The joints have no direct blood supply and are nourished by this synovial fluid, which simultaneously removes waste products. Joint salts, or calcium deposits, are dissolved and dispersed with the same gentle, high-repetition movement patterns. Properly learned, joint mobility can restore complete freedom of motion to the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, elbows, wrists and fingers. It's especially important to keep the spine supple and free and if there were such a thing as a fountain of youth, joint mobility exercises come very close.

Use mobility exercises as a warm up, an active recovery during other activities, or as a stand-alone workout. You can rejuvenate yourself and reclaim the movement of a child with a good joint mobility program. Joint mobility makes a wonderful, energizing morning recharge and sets the day up on the right foot.

He also has a Joint Mobilty DVD which you can find at Maxwellsc.com

Kettlebells - Your Long Term Weight Loss Solution

Serious Writers Block

Here is a guest article from Geoff Nuepert from www.kettlebellsecrets.com and author of the book "Kettlebell Muscle"


Kettlebells are today's most popular training tool. In case you don't know what a kettlebell is, imagine a cannonball with a handle on it. They come in all different weights and can be used by the frail and the fit alike.

And kettlebells should be part of your long term weight loss solution.

Notice how I said "long term."

Most of us think only of the short term - the here and now. But that is a mistake. It robs us of our future.

Now I'm not saying you should live in the future. Not at all. I'm saying live in the present. Do everything in the present to ensure your long term, future success.

And that's where kettlebells fit into your exercise program.

With just one kettlebell you can set yourself up for current and future weight loss.

Here's how.

1. Strength Training. This is arguably the most underrated method for weight control. Strength training focuses on making your muscles work harder than they are currently working. This means that you will be forcing your body to use more energy than it is currently using. If you are eating correctly, this newly required energy comes from fat stored in and on your body.

The concept of making your muscles stronger is arguably one of the most important concepts of all. By making them stronger, your body can move more. Moving more requires more energy too.

So by focusing on strength training, you get two bangs for the same buck:

1. Muscles that constantly require more and more energy to function (fat stores are your energy) and
2. You are able to move a lot more than you used to which also requires more energy from your body.

Kettlebell workouts focus on using all of your muscles at the same time.

This requires a ton more energy than traditional forms of strength training found at your local fitness center. That type of strength training focus on isolating each body part one at a time. This does not require that large amounts of energy be expended. Therefore, you're not burning as many calories as you could be.

2. Cardiovascular Training. This is training that works your heart and lungs. This is vitally important for long term health, but more importantly, it burns stored energy (fat).

The best form of cardiovascular training is called interval training. It is the idea of periods of work interspersed with periods of rest. This form of training, when performed correctly, burns a ton of calories. In fact, when performed correctly, interval training burns a ton of calories long after you're done exercising!

Kettlebells are the perfect solution for cardiovascular training.

With just one kettlebell you can swing, snatch or even perform a combination of exercises in a circuit and force your heart and lungs to work extra hard and burn off a ton of excess calories stored as fat.

Kettlebells have a ton of other long term weight loss benefits like joint health (say goodbye to aching knees and bad backs) but these are the primary two you need to focus on for long term success.

Remember, what you do today will set you up for future success or future failure. Why not ensure your permanent weight loss by incorporating kettlebells into your weight loss program?

Geoff Neupert has been a fitness professional for over 16 years. He helps all types of people lose fat and get in the best shape of their lives by using kettlebells. Learn how to get in the best shape of your life by going to Kettlebell Secrets.

Iron Circuit Conditioning

Iron Circuit Conditioning!

Today July 19th 2010
Dragon Door and Fitness Anywhere released a Brand New DVD called “Iron Circuit Conditioning” which combines the TRX suspension trainer with Kettlebells.

Click here for more.

Check out the Promotional Trailer

What workout is for me?

What is the ultimate workout?
Ask 100 people and you will probably get a 100 different answers.
Answers like:

Crossfit
P90X
Insanity
Marathon Training
Triathlon training
Kettlebells (of course!)
Olympic lifting
Power lifting
MMA
Pilates
Yoga
Spinning
etc,etc,etc

The list just goes on and on.

I don't care what program you choose I just think every program should include these 6 parts to be considered a complete and total program,these ideas are not mine but from Alwyn Cosgrove

Part 1 - Warm-up and Activation

I am not talking about a casual jog but a good warm-up that activates Core muscles and prepares your body for exercise.



Part 2: Pre-Hab or injury prevention

This is simply to take a few minutes to help make the shoulder, knee and hip joints a little more Resilient. It only takes a few minutes but really pays off in the end. A great exercise for this is the windmill!



Part 3 - "Core Training"

Core training is more than just sit-ups and planks but an emphasis on incorporating the Core into movement just like you would use your Core in life or athletics, not just Isolation. For me you get the most "Bang for your Buck" with the Turkish Get-up!



Part 4 - "Power Training"

As a person ages they will loose Power (or the ability to move fast) quicker than they will loose strength. An old person can walk up the stairs (strength) but not the ability to run up the stairs (Power). Again in my mind the kettlebell is your best bang for your buck because KB swings and snatches are fantastic power exercises moving weight as fast as you can.

Part 5 - "Strength"

We all need strength but what is it? Strength defined is the ability to apply force, and the more force you can apply the stronger you are. Again almost anything will work.

Body weight i.e push-ups
Machines - I can't believe I am saying this but yes machines are a strength tool.
Barbells and Dumbells
Sandbags and odd objects
And of course Kettlebells.

Bang for your Buck I again say KB's you can press, squat, row, a KB and there or so many different variations so from a time and space issue I give the nod to KB's

Part 6 "ESD or Energy System Development or to some Cardio"

All I can say here is if you have never done 20 minutes of snatches or even 10 minutes of snatches then you just don't know what i'm talking about. Go try 10 minutes of swings where at the top of each minute you perform 15 swings rest the remainder of the minute for 10 minutes and then get back to me.

Okay so now I have covered the 6 parts of a workout let me show you what 30 minute KB workout at home would look like and also note that some exercises will work for many parts i.e a Turkish Get-up is a Pre-hab and a Core exercise.

Parts 1 and 2 ( Warm-up and Pre-hab 5 minutes)
KB Jont mobilty from video above x 3 sets of 5
Windmills 2x 5 each side

Part 3 (Core 5 minutes)
The Turkish Get-up x 5 minutes switching hands each rep

Part 5 (Strength x 15 minutes)
As Many rounds as possible is 15 minutes of
Cleans and Presses x 5/5
Goblet squats x 5
Rows x 5/5

Parts 4 and 6 "ESD and Power"
The KB Swing
10 minutes
15 swings at the top of each minute.

There you have it a complete and total workout in 30 minutes using my favorite tool the Kettlebell.

FACT/FICTON: Cardio burns more calories than strength training.

Article from Yahoo Health on 7/9/10

Fiction.

Contrary to long-held belief, strength training is—as new studies have shown—superior to steady-state cardio in caloric burn. In one University of Southern Maine study, participants blasted as many calories doing 30 minutes of weight training as they did running at a six-minute-per-mile pace for the same amount of time. Unless you're Lolo Jones, strength is your best bet.

The other huge benefit of weight training? It boosts your metabolism after your workout—and builds muscle that will further increase your fat-burning potential in the long run. "If you do steady-state cardio, when you leave the gym, that's it for your calorie burn," says David Jack, general manager of Competitive Athlete Training Zone in Acton, Massachusetts. "But when you do strength work, you'll continue to burn calories for up to 36 hours."

To read the entire story click here


I have known this for a few years now but it is hard to make people beleive this, my example has always been to take a look at a sprinter and Marathon runner which pysique would you rather have?

The good news is that Kettlebells will give you the best of both worlds.

Try the "Program Minimum" from Pavel's Enter the Kettlebell (ETK).

1. 5 minutes of Turkish Get-ups (Strength)
2. 12 minutes of KB swings alternated with a easy pace jog. (cardio and strength)

Give it a shot!

Indepence Day Workout

Happy 4th of July! or Better said "Happy Birthday America"!

Here is a quick workout for you to try this weekend using a jump rope and a kettlebell.

Perform 100 skips and 20 swings.

Options:

Perform as many rounds as possible in 10 minues

Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

Perform 10 rounds total for time.

Your FREE to choose your workout!

Have a Great 4th of July!