In this post, I would like to share a little drill I created for cleaning and racking the kettlebell through the use of unilateral hip extension and the use of a tai chi bow stance. The drill becomes more complex when we consider that the kettlebell is being cleaned on the contralateral arm of the extending hip. In essence, then, we are creating a crossover effect to achieve the technique.

This technique is not meant for the new tai chi student or for those just learning the kettlebell. The practitioner then, should  be already adept on  both disciplines prior to trying this drill.

When working with this drill, it should be kept in mind that the  movement involved takes place on the transverse and sagittal plane. Perhaps a better description would be that the drill covers a horizontal and vertical direction.

As in all Tai Chi practice, this drill emphasizes the movement to emerge from the center toward the periphery. In the case of hip extension, the primary focus should be on the gluteus maximus. From there, the force follows to the hamstrings and finally to the heel. Thus, one should not think about extending the leg at the knee as in kicking.

It should also be understood that the raising of the kettlebell on the opposite hand, is not done by the bicep as when curling a dumbbell. It may be easy to do so when using light kettlebells. But with the heavier ones, this would not be possible and could lead to tendonitis.  The kettlebell is raise or cleaned to a rack position by the force and momentum from the quick hip extension.

I advise anyone trying this drill to first warm up the joints. This is a total body action and all joints should be warmed up prior to practicing. Do not do too many reps in the beginning.

In this video I’m using 26 lbs kettlebells. For me, this is the right weight. It gives me enough resistance to avoid curling the bell with the bicep, and light enough to allow focusing on technique.

Enjoy!

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They look like cannonballs with handles. They come in different “poods”; one pood being 16 kilograms or around 35+ pounds. The “Beast” weighs around 3 poods or 48kg = 106lbs; a real monster. They come from the Highlands of Scotland and a Russian dictionary dating back to 1704 calls them “girya”. We call them “Kettlebells”.

The first time I heard of a Kettlebell, was through a fellow Tai Chi practitioner in Long Island, Mike Pekor. He spoke of them as a powerful tool to develop the much sought-after explosive hip power.

What I have found so far in my studies and practice of Kettlebell training, is that while it does indeed develop powerful hips, so crucial in martial skill, it is also a tool for complete body conditioning and an excellent piece of equipment for rehab in the hands of an experienced therapist.

Most important for me, is that Kettlebells, unlike most equipment found in a gym, are fun to work with. And as long as proper form and technique is employed (kettlebells are not very forgiving when used improperly), the drills that can be created are only limited by the imagination of the athlete.

Kettlebells have gained a great deal of popularity amongst fitness professionals because the tool produces much more than a well sculptured and toned body in their clients; benefits include fat loss, strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and core strength.

Equally important for the trainer, is that kettlebell training skills are transferable. In other words, through the use of kettlebells, a trainer can design a program to improve a boxer’s punch, a golf swing, a backhand in tennis, or a swimmers back stroke. It is no wonder that professional sports teams are now including kettlebells in their training program designs, and sports greats such as Lance Armstrong have crossed trained with kettlebells.

As in Russia’s army, where kettlebells have been a staple of their gyms for years, the United States Armed forces has included kettlebell training and the practice is now popular amongst law enforcement agencies ranging from the CIA to local police gyms.

Hollywood has also taken notice of the bowling balls with a handle. Stallone used them on his last Rocky Balboa film as well as the late Bruce Lee; Jennifer Lopez keeps her assets in good form swinging kettlebells. These are just but a few among the many celebrities who have discovered the cast-iron body shaper.

Working out with kettlebells is not without risk. Unlike dumbells, the kettlebell’s center of gravity is displaced while in use, and although this feature is what makes it an ideal tool for functional strength development, it is also what demands from the user proper body alignments. The reader should also be aware that there are several exercises such as the box squat, that should be learned and practiced prior to swinging kettlebells. This is crucial if benefit from practice is to be realized.

Pavel Tsatsouline, the man who has brought international attention to his homeland’s treasure, the kettlebell, admonishes anyone wishing to incorporate kettlebell training into their regime to first “practice” using the kettlebells. And after a period of practice, then think about “working out” with kettlebells.

Kettlebells are not toys.

The term “Gong Fu” aka “Kung Fu”, can be roughly translated to: “skill acquired through practice”, and its general use in the West, which departs from the etymological meaning of the Chinese characters, is in reference to the martial arts. In the following, I will attempt to share with you some of my current views and understanding of Gong Fu and the role it plays in my overall fitness endeavors.

My current focus in the martial arts is on those of Chinese origin in particular the internal arts of Hsing-I Chuan and Tai Chi Chuan. These are two of the so called “soft arts”. Of these two arts, Tai Chi in particular has become associated with health promotion and with meditative disciplines. While Tai Chi indeed has improved the health of many practitioners and the practice has meditative qualities, it is lamentable that its influence in martial skill has been, by and large, neglected here in the West and in modern China. Hsing-I, on the other hand, continues to be regarded as an effective combat system.

While my approach to Tai Chi Chuan is from a pugilistic angle, it is not the martial techniques hidden within the art’s postures that I seek to explore. Instead, it is the “body” that Tai Chi Chuan practice develops in the practitioner that I long to experience; and it is *this* “Tai chi body” that facilitates martial skill application.

The Tai Chi Body

At a quick glance and to the untrained eye, the body and movement of a Tai Chi practitioner may not necessarily look any different than the body of any other man or woman. However, closer observation reveals fluidity, grace, strength, confidence, coordination and pliability amongst a host of other qualities. The sum of these qualities is what a Tai Chi body projects.

The projected qualities described above are as a consequence of the change in the connective tissue from long time Tai Chi practice. Not only is the sinew, fascia, tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones and joints affected, but the organs and general metabolic chemistry in the body is altered as well; a corporal alchemical transformation.

7 Built-in Components

The development of the Tai Chi body comes about through the interplay of 7 components: Relaxation, Yang’s 10 points, Standing Meditation, Silk Reeling practice, Form work, Push Hands and Cultural settings. These components are not employed in isolation from each other. Instead, like the inner workings of a watch’s gears, a careful and well calibrated engagement between these seven components, propel a physical transformation into a state referred to, by the sages, as “iron wrapped in cotton” and the “whole body is a fist”.

Each of the above mentioned components should be expounded upon. And in time I will write on each. However, for the sake of clarifying the pedagogical approach to my classes, I will briefly address the cultural settings component.

While none of us were in China during the 1700’s and witnessed the formation of Tai Chi Chuan, there are some scenarios we can state with certainty.  I’ll enumerate in the following table:

I could go through hundreds of examples of the cultural settings within which Tai Chi Chuan evolved juxtaposed with the modern day stage most tai chi is learned today.  But I think you get the gist of my position which is: if we wish to develop a “Tai Chi Body” then we need to include into our training an environment that has some resemblance to that of Tai Chi’s early days. Also, please note that I’m not making any reference to political, socioeconomic, or religious influences which most certainly had a measure of impact upon the art as we know it today.. I’m simply keeping it within the realm of practicality.

In an effort to create an environment which would, at least in a physical level, place demands on our bodies that provide enough stimulus for growth through adaptation, I like incorporating training props such as the BOSU ball, physioball, kettlebells, sandbags, and a substantial amount of bodyweight exercises. By no means is this additional training model meant to substitute the already time-proven methods of old such as Standing Meditation, two-men patterns and form work. But as explained above, today, these are not enough.

Training Tools

There are a few tools we currently use to help accelerate martial development. A short description of each tool as it relates to martial skill follows:

Kettlebells

Today, in Mixed Martial Arts (MMAs) the Kettlebell has become a staple of the training floor and with good reason. Kettlebell practice helps to develop and deliver power.  A martial artist may have great form, technique, speed, and timing. But without power, he/she is just playacting. Power delivery at the right time can make the difference between survival or defeat. Plenty of good technicians without power are found within dojos across the country. Kettlebell training is the right anitdote to this dilemma.  Along with power, a well designed Kettlebell training program can improve overall flexibility, muscular endurance and strength and solidify the core from which all martial skill emanates.

With proper focus, Kettlebell training develops martial spiral energy; improves techniques in joint locks application and reversals; palm strikes are much more dynamic; throws and take-downs are also enhanced through Kettlebell practice.

Resistance Cords/Rubber Bands

We currently use resistance bands to enhance skill in Tai Chi’s Push-hands and to increase striking power. Unlike wristbands or hand held weights (often used by boxers and kickboxers for power development), which compromise proper form during punching due to the weight’s downward pull exerted on it by gravity, resistance cord and rubber bands place the resistance on the front and back rotational muscles of the legs, hips chest and triceps for strikes. The pulling muscles such as the biceps, lats, rhomboids and to some extend leg extensions, are equally influenced depending on where the resistance cord is placed. Therefore, when proper body alignments are kept, the center of gravity is lowered and the stance is stable, resistance cords/bands are an exceptional training tool to enhance power from the pulling and pushing muscles of the entire body.

Coming up in future articles we’ll discuss our use of the Physioball, BOSU Ball, Medicine Ball and more.

Welcome! I’m Fernando Bernall, the creator of the DaoNamics™ Fitness System. I called it DaoNamics™ because it follows a Dynamic Path towards complete body-mind fitness, focusing on general strength and pliability with weight loss as a side effect of training.

What is DaoNamics™?

DaoNamics™  is a fitness training protocol that offers a methodical approach to conditioning the body through bodyweight calisthenics and repetitive practice of fundamental movement patterns such as walking, crawling, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, turning, standing, starting, stopping, climbing and lunging. Adding to these movement patterns, resistance work through kettlebell training, Joint Mobility drills (SpiralFlow), and breath/meditative work through Chinese Internal Arts and you have a complete fitness program.

What is total fitness?

Total fitness is generally classified in two branches with five components each: health and performance.

Ten components of fitness

DaoNamics™  training places equal emphasis to both branches of fitness.  Often, performance fitness is linked to athletic activities such as football or track.  It is sports oriented. DaoNamics™  seeks a cross-fertilization of ideas between sports performance and daily activities under the premise that every adult, regardless of age or gender, is an athlete who competes in life’s arena.

Total fitness, however, is not limited to the muscle-skeletal framework of our bodies. There is the internal energetic component which is trained through breath work, meditation, and martial arts. This aspect of fitness is addressed through the practice of Qi Gong, Xing-Yi and Tai Chi Chuan.

How does it work?

DaoNamics™  exercise routines are based on principles of biomechanics and kinesiology. Built on the understanding that the body moves through a system of levers and the brain, which controls muscular movement, thinks in terms of whole motions, not individual muscles. It could be said, then, that DaoNamics™ focuses on training “movement” instead of muscle.

Movement, then, is the synchronized effort that groups of muscles exert on skeletal joints in a tri-planar field (frontal, sagittal and transverse).

To illustrate, consider the use of a leg extension machine to exercise the quads (muscles on the front top of the legs), and the use of a step box (taking alternating steps on a platform around 6 to 12 inches in height). While both will strengthen the quadriceps, the former does not transfer to functional strength because it is an isolation exercise and its primary motion is on one plane, sagittal.

The steps up exercise, however, resembles walking up or down stairs; getting in and out of car or getting out of tub. It includes the use of assistant muscles besides the quadriceps, and movement takes place on all planes of motion, including frontal and transverse movement of the hips while moving the body in a sagittal plane (back and forth or up and down).

The value of a “single-joint”  exercise such as on the leg extension machine, is that it can play a role in helping to strengthen a -weak link- in the kinetic chain. But it should only be used as an assistant training tool.

Work out description

DaoNamics™  training is a blend of joint mobility drills, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), bodyweight exercises, and kettlebell training. DaoNamics™  addresses both aerobic/cardio and strength/endurance training. All HIIT routines conform to the protocol scientist Izumi Tabata, Ph.D, developed for Japanese athletes . His high intensity interval method, improved the athletes overall aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.

Where to train

DaoNamics™  training is taught on a one-to-one setting with a personal trainer, in small group fitness sessions and now online on our site.

The video below is just an example of what a DaoNamics™  session is like. No two sessions are the same. The idea is to confuse the body by changing routines and thus avoiding plateaus.

There are many drills with kettlebells that not only are demanding, but also are very revealing or diagnostic in nature. The Windmill (WM) along with the Turkish Get Up (TGU), are two of such drills and on this short article I would like to highlight the Windmill. I will also share a little video showing my latest progress in this fabulous drill..

The Windmill is not a beginner’s KB drill. The practitioner should already be able to Clean, Rack, and Military Press the kettlebell prior to attempting the Windmill. Furthermore, it is essential that the breathing be under control with the abdominal wall under pneumatic pressure. This keeps the lumbar spine pressurized and prevents low back injury. Of equal importance, is to keep the eyes on the kettlebell throughout the entire sequence. The lats should be extended and the arm supporting the bell should stay packed and always in a perpendicular direction to the ground.

I find the WM to be both diagnostic and remedial in nature. In other words, practicing the WM reveals areas of constriction within the musculature and fascia. The same practice, if done properly and with the right amount of weight, can be used to help release constrictions or muscular tightness. It is always important to not use too much weight when using the WM therapeutically. It is all about the quality of movement and not about the amount of weight being lifted.

I also like practicing the WM with a Qi Gong kind of mentality. A combination of resistance training coupled with breath work such as in the practice of various Chinese meditative arts. Practicing in this fashion is beneficial in that it keeps feeding a good supply of oxygen to the muscles and maintains a mind-muscle connection throughout the drill. I seldom use music in my training, but if I do, it is more of a meditating quality such as music used in Tai Chi. Again, it is all about quality of movement and not mindless motion.

A common mistake I see is that the practitioner lowers the body too quickly. To me, this approach lessens the benefit of the eccentric contraction of the abdominal muscles in particular the function of the obliques and can also lead to injury. It is best to always practice the WM in a slow fashion.

Here’s how I currently practice the WM:

• Clean and press the kettlebell and keep the arm locked over head. Fire the lats and keep eyes on the KB.
• Shift the weight to the leg corresponding to the arm holding the KB.
• Slide the hip to the side as if holding a baby
• Point both feet around 45 degrees in the direction away from the arm holding the KB
• Take a deep breath and gradually lean forward in the direction of the feet. Be sure not to lean laterally. This could cause injury. Do not fully exhale. Keep the abdomen pressurized.
• Allow the arm not holding the KB to track the leg not supporting the weight. It is fine to let that leg bend at the knee if hamstrings are too tight. Otherwise keep it straight.
• Lean down as low as possible keeping the back straight. Straight is not the same as perpendicular.
• When arriving to the lowest position, the arm holding the KB and the one tracking the leg should form one straight line. The leg supporting the KB should remain as perpendicular as possible. Thus, as in the video, it should look as two pillars in a parallel line. Take a deep breath..
• Slowly rise while exhaling through the teeth.
• If the kettlebell is light, lower it with a corkscrew descent in a controlled fashion.

There are several variations of the WM some more intense than other. All variations of the WM will have a tremendous effect on the core. I will post more on these later.. Enjoy..

Belly fat, a gentler term for abdominal fat, is perhaps the number one telltale sign of fitness decline and the subsequent deterioration of one’s general health. At some stage in life, abdominal fat becomes synonymous with Metabolic syndrome and is often associated with a decline in testosterone or the so called male menopause. Kettlebell training, when used within a complete fitness regime can help blast the fat away, improve cardiovascular fitness and improve overall hormonal levels.

At the bottom of this article I will share with you a fat blasting workout using a kettlebell and some basic calisthenics. But, first, here are some facts about weight loss:

• It is a $40 billion dollars a year industry fed by desperate, overweight folks who are digging their own grave with a fork and a knife.
• Diets don’t work.
• It is not all about genetics
• Fat is the second American killer next to smoking
• You have a choice! Exercise it!

In the past, obesity was thought of as a sign of affluence; and perhaps in some cultures this thought still prevails. Today, however, obesity is primarily linked to ignorance, poverty and a sedentary lifestyle and it is evident in all walks of life irrespective of socioeconomic status.

Defining our Terms

Body weight comes in many shapes and colors.  Some shapes are “pleasantly plump”; others are chubby, heavy, chunky, big guy.  These adjectives have one thing in common: they conjure images of weight above normal expressed in a tactful, perhaps humane, kind of way.

In the health care field, body weight is labeled as severely underweight, underweight, normal, overweight, obese and morbidly obese. There are several methods to assess an individual’s weight status including anthropometric and the bioelectrical impedance (BIA) methods. However, the method of choice is the Body Mass Index BMI The BMI uses bodyweight and divides it by the square of the height.

While the BMI method has its shortcomings, it does offer clinicians and fitness professional a way of screening potential risk factors such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke to name a few.. To find out your BMI, use this calculator..

Caloric Deficit:

To appreciate the meaning of caloric deficit, it is essential to consider the word “diet”; a heavy loaded word that immediately invokes thoughts of abstinence, restrictions, moderation and suffering. It should then be refreshing to learn that the word has its root in a Greek word which means “a way of life”. It offers by its own definition, a path towards a holistic approach to weight management and personal hygiene.

A pound of body fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Thus if one is to lose a pound of fat, there needs to be a deficit on caloric intake equaling 3500 calories. As per the recomendation from ACSM, safe weight loss should fall within 1% of the individual’s body mass (total weight) per week which roughly equals 1 to 2 lbs per week depending on body size. Thus, a person who weights 110 lbs. should not lose more than 1.1 pounds per week. In contrast, a 300-pound man can safely lose 3 pounds in a week representing 1% of his total body weight.

To accomplish a weekly loss of 1 to 2 lbs, one would need a caloric deficit of around 500 to 1000 calories. However, while caloric restriction is an effective and safe weight loss method, sufficient data indicates that it is not the most successful approach. Most studies suggest that a comprehensive weight management protocol, one that includes caloric expenditure by way of exercise, and a sensible diet, have yielded the best results not only in losing weight but also in keeping it off.

Caloric Expenditure

The human body is constantly using energy. It ceases to do so, when one dies; becoming a source of energy for other organisms.  The greatest amount of daily energy used by the body, around 60% to 75% is the RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate).  This is the amount of energy the body uses/needs just to keep all of its physiological and biological processes running while at rest such as respiration, heart function and temperature regulation. The bigger the person, the more energy needed. The RMR decreases as we age and accounts for one of several reasons for the difficulty of losing weight as we get older.

Our body also uses energy in the process of consuming and processing food; a process known as the Thermal Effect of Food, or TEF, and accounts to around 7% to 10% of the body’s total energy requirement. This expenditure of energy during digestion, is one of the reasons that individuals should eat small portions of foods such as snacks between meals in order to keep metabolism fired up. Next to RMR, the second largest use of energy is physical activity. For the purpose of weight loss, physical activity should include a daily regime of exercise such as walking. However, for faster results in one’s attempt to lose weight, resistance training should be considered. In other words, lifting weights.

The reason weight lifting helps to lose weight is that lean muscle tissue has high metabolic activity and burns calories even while one is at rest. Resistance work does not always have to be performed with weights or machines.  A complete work out can be accomplished with calisthenics and using just one’s own bodyweight.  For example, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, dips, squats, lunges and jumping are just but a few of many exercises utilizing only bodyweight.

There is, in my opinion, one important consideration to keep as a priority when attempting to lose weight: a vision. If there is a vision of how one wants to feel and look within a reasonable amount of time, then a logical step by step plan can be designed, implemented and maintained to fulfill one’s vision. The vision must go far beyond physical aesthetics. It must be all inclusive and address all components of physical fitness including strength, speed, power, anaerobic and aerobic endurance, agility, balance, coordination, flexibility and body composition. In other words, it must be holistic in nature.

Exercise should stimulate growth and strength to all major muscle groups: the chest, back, shoulders, forearms, triceps, biceps, traps, abs, low back, quads, hamstrings and lower leg muscles. It must also address functional strength and fundamental body movement patterns. It must prepare us to realize all activities of daily living and then some…  It is never too late to start!

Kettlebell workout for fat burning*

The following workout is for clients who have at least completed level I of our kettlebells Workshops. The routine is performed with our GYMBOSS timer and will follow the Tabata Protocol. The entire program will last 16 minutes not including rest periods which will be around 12 to 15 minutes depending on your fitness level. Therefore, 30 minutes a day 3 to 5 days a week will get you back shape. Be sure to always do the joint mobility exercises taught during the workshop prior to the workout and do dynamic stretching first.

• One tabata set of unweighted squats (4 minutes) plus rest between sets
• One tabata set of Kettlebell Russian Swings (4 minutes) plus rest
• One split tabata of Hindu Push-ups (2 minutes) followed by mountain climbers (2 minutes) plus rest between sets
• One split tabata of Jumping Rope (2 minutes) followed by kettebell swing cleans (2 minutes) plus rest.

Enjoy!!

Swimming Dragon is perhaps one of my favorite sets I teach to my Baby Boomer Clients to help  keep the spine in a healthy condition. Not only is the vertebral column exercised, but the joints of the knees, ankles, hips, elbows, wrists and shoulders, along with the neck, receive a mild and invigorating workout.

Joint mobility and strength training should always be practiced along side each other. This is particularly true for the older athletes whose joints are not as supple as they were in days gone by.

In this video, I share with you my current level of practice in this beautiful exercise.

Practiced for at least 20 minutes a day, Swimming Dragon can help in weight management. It has a profound effect on the main glands of the body including the gonads, thyroid, adrenals and it is an effective method for lymphatic flow.

The style of Swimming Dragon I practice, places emphasis on the Kidney meridian and the lower Dan Tien. The lowering of the body to a nearly squatting position pressurizes the lower abdomen stimulating the gonads. The stimulation to these glands nourishes the Kidney energy, promotes sexual vitality, strengthen the knees and revives the sacrum and pelvic floor…

In 2009, the first boomers turned 65 and every 8 seconds a boomer turns 50, making it the fastest growing demographic group in America currently numbering around 78 million strong. The Boomer Generation has come to age.

With the rising cost of conventional health care, Boomers are seeking ways to keep their bodies and overall health in the best condition possible through alternative medicine, exercise and nutrition. I aim to provide relevant information on these subjects.

It is my conviction that all exercise programs, especially those geared towards the Boomer generation, need to emphasize the importance of joint health. Far too often, the focus is on weight loss, and while losing weight is important, Boomers need to pay special attention to joint health.  After all, exercise will always involve the use of joints and if these are not in good condition, injury is inevitable.

The SpiralFlow™ Method is a step by step approach to joint mobility and targets the main 18 joints of the body in a systematical and practical way. It is a suitable training adjunct to anyone’s fitness regimes.