Look, I am all for learning new things and figuring out different ways of doing things for the purposes of innovating new stuff. I’m all for that I really am but what really jabs my a$$ is when people take great concepts and mix and mash them until they aren’t recognizable for being as effective as they once were. It happens all the time. People take something good and f’ with it until it becomes something bad.

It’s happened with the Tabata protocol (I am somewhat guilty of this but at least I see the forest for the trees). The original Tabata protocol called for 20 seconds max intensity followed by 10 seconds low intensity for 8 rounds to be performed on an exercise bike. If you change any of that it isn’t the Tabata protocol anymore. Yes it can be messed with and still be valuable. Uber strength coach Dan John has people do that with front squats. I’ve used other exercises. We still call it Tabata because that is what it has been known by. To me it is just a simple way to keep things fast paced. I don’t go around saying that doing anything with the 20/10 work to rest ratio for 8 rounds is going to do anything to your cardio. It is what it is. A fast paced way of doing things. Inserting crunches in there won’t do it.

Yes you can mix and match things but most of the time you shouldn’t. Especially if you don’t know the why and hows of something that works. Check out this fine example of one of the not so smart things in fitness.

and another one (apparently by the same person)

There is a whole lot more where that came from but that would take up the entire page and I don’t want to corrupt your mind by filling it with bad ideas (well unless we are out drinking or something.)

Here is another bad mix.

Seriously though, knock it off. Stop mixing stuff without knowing how the individual ingredients are going to react. The kettlebell swing is a tremendous exercise. One of my favorites in fact. It does NOT to be mixed with a bosu ball. It does NOT need to be mixed into a spinning class. Especially if you are clueless about what you should be doing.

Watch those videos a second time and check her form with the swing. You might be asking me “check which one?” Well either or since they both have equal amounts of suck’age.

When we do kettlebell swings we either go barefoot or we wear a shoe that has little to no padding. This is done to increase stability and minimize power leakages. The stability comes in handy for minimizing the likeliness of injury to the spine. Would doing it on an unstable surface like a bosu ball be a good idea? Bzzzt! Nope. How bout doing it with the spine sideways like in the second video? Yup you got it. It’s a $hit idea.

And don’t get me started on anything that mixes kettlebell exercises in with dancing. Stop it. And you look like a fool dancing by yourself with a kettlebell. (Probably because the ones that teach that are fools.) Why even have another form of cardio? My heart is beating out of my chest when I do swings. If you are doing swings properly your heart and lungs are what is going to make you quit first.

When we do kettlebell swings and deadlifts and other things that effect the spine we recommend doing a couple of Mackenzie back bends or doing upward dogs as they might be called in Yoga. This is done to ensure the spine is positioned correctly and because it helps to make sure there is no distortion in the ligaments of the spine. Think it’s a good idea to be hunched over an exercise bike for long periods after swings? No it isn’t, and WHEN someone gets injured guess which tool they are going to blame. It wasn’t the kettlebell that hurt their back but their own stupidity (well the instructor’s stupidity in most cases). And if they aren’t getting injured it’s because that joke of a kettlebell is too light to do anything good or bad.

Now yes mixing kettlebells exercises in with other exercises and even combining them can be done safely and effectivly IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!

The leader of the kettlebell invasion Pavel combined his intellect with the people that came up with the TRX suspension trainer. The two of them know what they are doing and are able to mix it successfully.

My team leader at the RKC Josh Henkin is known for mixing sandbag training with kettlebell training. He knows what he is doing.

Arthur Saxon mixed barbells in with kettlebells but knows what he is doing.

If you don’t know how to train safely with a kettlebell then don’t attempt to mix and match it and try to convince an unknowing public that you are an f’ing genius.

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” Mark Twain

If you don’t know how to cook, you learn a recipe and master a recipe THEN AND ONLY THEN you can tinker with it and make it your own. Don’t consider yourself a gifted cook if you just flipped over a couple burgers at McDonald’s.

Learn the right way do to things before you decide to mess them up, and if you think that that was the right thing of doing things…you have got to be kidding me.

Related posts:

1. 300 repetition home kettlebell workout
2. Fresh from the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC)
3. Should you train with a Russian Kettlebell?
4. tread climber vs. kettlebell training
5. old school kettlebell training