Body Weight Training – Why You Should Go Barefoot

I personally work out about 90% of the time barefoot or in my Vibram Five Fingers … I’m a firm believer that it’s the best way to go, especially for body weight training. Here’s an article I recently posted over on my Fitness Monster blog that outlines five reasons why you should try it yourself. Enjoy!

- Forest

Vibrams

In a recent study done at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa titled “Shod Versus Unshod: The Emergence of Forefoot Pathology in Modern Humans?”, the feet of 180 humans from three different population groups (Sotho, Zulu, and European) were compared to one another’s, as well as to those of 2,000 year-old skeletons.

The researchers concluded that before shoes were invented, people had healthier feet. The modern Zulu population, which often goes barefoot, had the healthiest feet in the study. Europeans, the habitual shoe wearers, had the most foot problems.

The footwear (or lack thereof) you do your workouts in – be it body weight exercises, kettlebell training, or even running – has a huge impact on your balance, strength, and coordination. The above mentioned study is just a small example of a current thinking that most training is probably best done with no shoes at all. And here are five specific reasons why:

1. Proper gait

Wearing shoes makes natural gait impossible. And chronic shoe wearing can result in lower and upper back pain.

2. Improves balance

This is almost immediate. Just try it and report back.

3. ‘Feel’ the floor

Going barefoot allows you to build a nice strong base from the ground up. Also, cross trainers or running shoes may have elevation in the sole as to pitch your feet forward and impair mobility.

4. Strengthen the foot muscles

You get this only with barefoot (and minimalist footwear) training. Plus you can use your toes to grip things better.

5. No tension loss

If you follow Pavel’s teachings, you know that tension is strength. So cushy shoes are out.

So now you’re hopefully convinced to at least give barefoot training a try. But you’re scared you’ll step on glass, dog poo, etc. Enter Vibrams Five Finger Shoes.

From WikiPedia:

Vibram Five Finger Shoes are a type of minimalist shoe manufactured by Vibram, originally marketed as a more “natural” alternative for different outdoors activities (sailing, kayaking, canoeing, and as a camp or after-hike shoe). The footwear has thin, flexible soles that are contoured to the shape of the human foot, including visible individual sections for the toes. Vibram FiveFingers are meant to replicate being barefoot and allow for the natural biomechanics of the foot to work.

I personally have a pair of Vibrams that I love and wear for most of my training. Barefoot training does sound glorious and romantic, but what if, for example, you want to train outdoors? Your first encounter with a sharp object can make you think twice. And Vibrams are a great solution.

In conclusion, barefoot training has a ton of specific benefits, including improving gait, balance, and ground feel, as well as strengthening of the foot muscles and preventing tension loss. If you aren’t ready to go totally barefoot just yet, Vibrams Five Finger Shoes are a great alternative.

Thanks for reading and talk soon -

Forest

P.S. If you liked this post, you may be interested in our boot camp sacramento group, which you can visit at http://www.forestvancetraining.com/bootcamp-sacramento

Kettlebell Workout For Seniors (50+)

I’m personally not a big fan of the term ‘senior’. The images it conjures up are far different than the folks in the 50+ age group that, for example, I’ve met and trained with at RKC events. I have personal training and boot camp clients that defy ‘senior’ in every sense of the word. And I certainly won’t be excited about being called a senior myself 20 or so years from now

But in the context of this article, I’m going to use it to refer to individuals over the age of 50. I’ll outline specific training requirements and benefits of working with kettlebells for people in this age group, and then provide you with a kettlebell workout designed specifically for seniors.

Training Requirements

1. Get medical clearance from your doctor before starting an exercise program, especially if you have a pre-existing condition. Ask if there are any activities you should avoid. Start slow. If you haven’t been active in a while, it can be harmful to go “all out.” Instead, build up your exercise program little by little.

2. Get a qualified instructor who can regress the workouts to your ability and needs. Ideally this would be in person; if for whatever reason that’s not possible, at minimum get some personal guideance in a coaching program like this one: The Kettlebell Basics Weekly Workouts program

Benefits

1. Kettlebell training – done right – leads to stronger muscles, which in turn lead to multiple benefits, such as:

• less degeneration of cognitive function
• reversal of muscle wastage
• decreased risk of alzheimer’s
• control of diabetes

2. Exercise is the key to staying strong, energetic, and healthy as you get older. It can help you manage the symptoms of illness and pain, maintain your independence, and even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. Regular exercise, by building strength and stamina, prevents loss of bone mass and improves balance, actually reducing your risk of falling.

3. Research has shown that strengthening exercises (like kettlebell training) are both safe and effective for women and men of all ages, including those who are not in perfect health. In fact, people with health concerns—including heart disease or arthritis—often benefit the most from an exercise program that includes lifting weights a few times each week.

Kettlebell Workout For Seniors

Now, keeping everything in mind I mentioned above, here is a kettlebell workout designed for seniors:

Warm Up

foam rolling/joint mobility exercises/dynamic warm up

Workout

• 1 half or full Turkish get up (right and left)
• 10 body weight or kettlebell squats
• 15 kettlebell sumo deadlifts or swings

Repeat circuit three to five times. Rest as much as needed but as little as possible.

Finish with ~ 5 mins. of static stretching.

Questions about how to perform any of the exercises listed above? Check out the kettlebell exercises section of this site: Kettlebell Exercises

In conclusion, kettlebell training is fantastic for folks over the age of 50. If you are in this age group, take into consideration the specific training requirements I listed in this article. Make sure you get a qualified instructor to give you some personal assistance in reaching your kettlebell training goals. And train hard!

Thanks for reading and talk soon -

Forest Vance, RKC II

P.S. If you liked this post, you should check out our bootcamp sacramento website for more posts like this one at http://www.forestvancetraining.com/bootcamp-sacramento!

Kettlebell Workout For Firefighters

This article is about why kettlebells are a great training tool for firefighters. I’ll start by giving some specific reasons why firefighters should use kettlebells in their workouts, and I’ll also give you a sample kettlebell workout for firefighters.

In their daily jobs, firefighters do things like:

• Handling / raising heavy ladders
• Rescue and removal of trapped victims
• Advancing high pressure hose lines
• Forcible entry operations
• Overhaul / removal of walls and ceilings
• Hauling heavy hose and equipment
• Operating with 50 lbs of thermal protective gear

And so a workout designed specifically for firefighters should be focused on the qualities needed to do these things well. For example:

• Building the cardio system- specifically with high intensity interval training, because this is much like the work that is done in the above mentioned tasks
• Focusing on multi-joint exercises – because firefighters never perform a task where they only use a single joint movement
• Focusing on developing not only strength but power – the ability to lift maximal loads, but also to do so quickly
• Improving balance and core strength – because these are qualities that are involved to a large degree in the above-mentioned tasks

Circuit – style workouts using explosive kettlebell movements is great general physical preparedness training for firefighters. This type of workout builds your cardio system, is highly functional and multi-joint in nature, develops not only strength but explosiveness, and utilizes core and balance to a large degree.

So here you go -

Kettlebell Workout For Firefighers

Start by performing the following warm up circuit three times at a low-to-medium intensity:

• 10-15 goblet squats
• 10-15 push ups
• 6-8 single leg deadlift (each leg) (like a traditional deadlift, only performed balancing on one leg)
• 3-5 Tactical pull ups

Then, perform the following combination 5-10 times on each arm, taking just as much rest as needed to use good form:

• 1 clean
• 2 squat to overhead presses
• 3 snatches

So you’ll do one clean on the right side, immediately follow that with two squat to overhead presses on the right, and immediately follow that with three snatches on the right. Switch sides and repeat.

Finish by static stretching tight muscle groups.

In summary, kettlebells are a great training tool for firefighters because they help develop specific qualities needed in their everyday job duties. Try this sample kettlebell circuit workout for firefighters to get you started!

Thanks for reading -

Forest Vance, RKC II

P.S. Forest Vance is a Sacramento, CA based Kettlebell Enthusiast, to learn more about his Kettlebell gym and other training programs, visit http://forestvance.com