Eric J. Moss | New Jersey Kettlebell Training | North Jersey Personal Training | RKC Kettlebell Certified » workout

Bootcamp vs. Kettlebell

Eric Moss — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:24:26 +0000

So earlier today I was checking my email and found that a close friend of mine was browsing the internet or something and stumbled upon an article condemning military style bootcamps made to get regular people back into shape and sent it to me. The problem was when irresponsible trainers didn’t understand the fine line between too much and not enough. When it’s a person who hasn’t trained for about longer then I’ve been alive too much is a very quick thing to reach.

Now a lot of this could and should be avoided with common sense and logic. For one thing look at the people that go to a real military bootcamp. Then look at the type of people that buy memberships to fitness bootcamps. The former is made up of 18 year old kids who could recover from just about anything thrown at them in an effort to prepare for war. The other can be anywhere from 20 all the way up to 70 years old looking for a way to get in shape without paying $50 per session. Do you think the same approach should be taken with both of them?

Now as you know I condemn sissiness but there is more to exercise science then hard work and all the hard work in the world won’t matter if it leaves you a debilitated mess. In my kettlebell bootcamp classes safety is a priority. Injuries don’t allow progress and that is the goal of my classes. Right now I have a bride preparing for her wedding in my kettlebell bootcamp class. I wouldn’t consider myself good at my job if she went limping down the aisle or if she had to skip a bunch of sessions because my irresponsible @$$ injured her.

If it doesn’t get you results and it doesn’t get you there safely…it’s a crappy program. Those are the big differences between the right and wrong ways of doing it. Got something to say?

Should you train while on vacation?

Eric Moss — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:33:21 +0000

I don’t know how long you have been keeping up with my blog but a little while back I took my girlfriend on a cruise where I proposed to her (and she said yes). Well the time has come for us to book our honeymoon because our wedding is coming up in November. Well for me being the stingy bastard that I am I wanted to get a high bang for my buck place (kind of like my exercise programs) and checked a lot of places and what they have to offer. One thing I noticed under the amenities was that just about all of them have a “fitness facility” listed under a place that could have very easily been titled “Here are a bunch of reasons you should stay here.”

Now I have a hard time understanding a lot of people’s mindsets. For one thing is pushing yourself through a workout while you could be on a beautiful beach or an excursion really the way you want to spend your vacation? Contrary to popular belief you aren’t going to lose your results after a single week of indulgence and relaxation. Actually you could come back refreshed since back off weeks are a part of just about every strength and conditioning programs out there. Some of my clients even ask me right before they leave what they should do while on vacation. I answer “Whatever you want. Relax and we can undue whatever damage was done when you get back.” Most of the facilities don’t give me the eye of the tiger anyways.

Would you rather be here or in the gym.

One thing I have also noticed is that some people will avoid training just about every other week of the year and suddenly while they are on vacation they get the inspiration to train. Hey I guess late is better then never but the major problem here is that they spend their entire vacation limping around from delayed onset muscle soreness. Not a pleasant way to spend the vacation and you aren’t going to have any visible results from the single workout that pretty nearly ruined your trip.

So to wrap it up what I recommend is to pay your dues BEFORE your trip. Spend the vacation enjoying the fruits of your labor.

The fruits of my labor

Strength Training for Fitness and Aesthetics

Eric Moss — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:25:47 +0000

Alright I was sitting here at my laptop with no clue what I wanted to write about so I’ll just give you a free workout to try at home. Hell I’ll write down the guidelines for you to complete it free of charge since I am not an asshole after all. I just came back from running a class and this is what I had them do. All you need is a kettlebell. The purpose of this training session is to train over head stability and movement quality, build strength and boost your metabolism to burn some fat (if that is your goal get on a proper nutrition program).

4 turkish get ups alternating sides. Make sure to pay attention to proper form.

“Countdowns” (I stole “countdowns” from uber Strength Coach Alwyn Cosgrove…he told me to…)
Complete this as fast as you can with good form.

10 swings
10 goblet squats
9 swings
9 goblet squats
8 swings
8 goblet squats
till you get down to 1

Wait for your respiration to return to normal then do kettlebell arm bars to open up the chest. That one doesn’t have a specific rep count since I want you to just kind of explore your way through the exercise. Remember to keep your lats tight and keep your shoulder away from your ear.

Then do a couple halos and round the body pass just to loosen up your shoulders a bit more.

Prone cobra stretch at the end.

Enjoy.

Eric Moss RKC

I want you to notice that even though there is a lot going on in that workout I stress the basics. It’s turkish getups, swings and squats. Do more of the stuff that provides a high bang for your buck and you will get better results. Exercise selection is the last thing your body adapts to so don’t buy into that muscle confusion crap. Try that training session out and let me know how you do with it. I mean it, speak up.

Ashley Greene uses kettlebells

Eric Moss — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:30:54 +0000

You know anyone who knows me knows I am not one to watch the Twilight series. To me real vampires burn when exposed to the sun rays instead of sparkling or glowing or whatever the hell they do in that movie series. Hell if I am going to be on a team for anyone in a movie I pick team Megatron.

All hail Megatron, the Decepticon lord

However I was just perusing Josh Hillis’ blog and found that the starlet of Eclipse (the new movie in the Twilight series) used kettlebells to prepare for her role. Now for one thing this does get me stoked because it helps spread the word that kettlebells are awesome for attaining the body you have always wanted. Take a look at her.

Ashley Greene trains with kettlebells

Not bad right? One of the major fears many of my female clients have is that kettlebells are going to turn them into men. Well Ashley Greene doesn’t look like a man. I don’t think she looks like a vampire either (well neither does the vamp main character in my humble opinion) but that’s a different story.

Her nutrition from what I can tell consists of things that you would find in nature. Meat, veggies, things not processed and that goes with kettlebell training for a winning combination. Hmm, that is pretty much the same exact advice I give to my female clients. I guess movie stars aren’t all that different from us after all.

So ladies, what can you learn from this? Train smart, eat smart, set a deadline (like being in a movie) get results. Guys, what can you learn from this? Pretty much the same thing. If not send your lady friend to this post and maybe she’ll learn something.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Kai Hibbard speaking out against The Biggest Loser

Eric Moss — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:11:47 +0000

So a little less then a week ago former Biggest Loser contestant and runner up Kai Hibbard spoke out against the show The Biggest Loser. Now if you have been following my blog for even a little bit of time you probably know that I am not a fan of the Biggest Loser and think that what they do as inspirational as it is it is at the same time terrible. In the following video Kai Hibbard brought to light what many of us in the fitness industry already know. Things like having them eat next to nothing, that they are getting a poor body image, that they were encouraged to dehydrate faster then many wrestlers and mma competitors, getting eating disorders, encouraging unrealistic expectations for viewers (10+ lbs per week!?!?), that they were put into dangerous situations etc. Here just watch the video for yourself.

Now when I first watched the video I applauded her for standing up to the dangerous ways of the Biggest Loser and the things they promote.

And then I learned the whole truth..

You see as dangerous as the trainers on the Biggest Loser are the one good thing that comes out from them is that there is no magic pill. Well with the exception of their shameless ads. When I did a little digging to see why she would suddenly come out against them I discovered that she has become a paid spokesperson for the Livea weight loss supplement company which she was promoting on her blog and if I am not mistaken she is promoting her diet book.

So basically it was a publicity stunt.

Does she still believe in hard training and sound nutrition? I don’t know. I have been denied access to her blog but one thing is for sure and that is she did in fact have a vested interest.

So what do you think of this whole thing?