April Spotlight and Contest winner: Nikki

Nikki won:

A24kg Dragon Door Kettlebell (the ONLY brand I use),

A month supply of Prograde supplements

A gift certificate for a massage at Balance Bodywork.

And a spiffy GREEN Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp T-shirt.

Rock on Nikki!

Fast Food Fat Loss Failure

Remember back in the nineties when Fast Food companies tried to change? They tried coming out with lighter and lower fat versions of their sandwiches and tacos and everything else.
Know what happened?
The "healthier" versions on their menus FAILED miserably. They were all pulled and replaced by newer options that were bigger, nastier and more calorie laden than ever before.

They goofing around and did what any smart business should: They gave people what they wanted. In the case of Fast Food that meant adding as much mayo, bacon, cheese and mystery meat as they possibly could.

Enter the SUPERMEGA Burgers

Enter tacos wrapped in melted cheese stuck to yet another taco. And people were more than happy to gobble them all right up.



I believe, fortunately, that we've come to a point where people have realized that it's all just too much. Hopefully people are realizing that they cannot afford to get sick. They cannot afford to eat garbage all the time. They are understanding it WILL catch up to them.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has been in the news lately because they are trying a new Kentucky GRILLED Chicken. Supposedly it tastes as good as their fried version.

Now I don't know if it does or doesn't. And to be honest, I don't much care. You see, the fact of the matter is when people go to Fast Food restaurants and order something "healthier" like grilled chicken they typically off set it with french fries and giant soda.

There are better choices to be made. And if you plan your day you won't be in a position where you have to gobble a meal down at KFC, McDonald's or Burger King.

Things like:
Cottage cheese
Hard boiled eggs
Fresh fruit and veggies
Raw almonds

You could also go with Prograde Cravers or Prograde Lean. Cravers are the best tasting healthy snack bar on the planet and Lean is their delicious chocolate meal replacement shake.

Plus they are having a BIG sale ends tomorrow night and here's what you need to know about it: - You save 10.2% off ALL of their products. They're all on sale this week.
- The sale ends this Friday, April 24th at 11:59pm EST.
- Just enter the coupon code below during checkout on their site:
xxtwozz
(yes, the letters are all lower case)

Look, the bottom line is simple: A little bit of planning and some smart food choices go a long way to making you lean and strong.

Nashville Kettlebell Boot Camp: How To Put More Power In Your Push-ups

Today I want to share with you how the principles we use while lifting kettlebells apply to ANY sort of lifting, even bodyweight exercises. Pavel talks about this in the Naked Warrior. I am going to use the classic pushup as our example today.

Why Push-ups?

The pushup is one of the most well known exercises of all time. But well-known doesn’t necessarily mean being well liked! Based on my experience, most people really HATE push-ups. Why is this? I think it is because push-up tends to be really difficult for-

A. People who carry extra body weight and

B. Most ladies who feel they do not have the upper strength to ever be able to do anything but “girl pushups" on the knees.

A big part of this is because of the dangerous and ineffective way the I see a lot of people doing their pushups. This article is written to address everything you need to know about performing the push-up with proper form and to learning how to do more push-ups quickly and safely. People tend hate what they are not good at it, and I believe that though you may currently hate push-ups, by using the info in this article you will finally cover your true push-up potential. You may never be psychotically love the push-up, but you WILL be able to use them to get stronger!
Push-ups (along with pullups) are one of the best total body exercises around. You don't need any equipment and there are dozens of variations that you can do to make them easier or harder.

You may think of pushups as a chest and tricep exercise, most people do. There is a lot more to it than that. Done correctly, pushups are a great FULL BODY exercise that also affect your core strength and stability, shoulders, legs and back.

How to Perform a Perfect Push-up
Nearly everyone has attempted a push-up at some time in his or her life, but the vast majority of people have never performed a full range of motion floor push-up with perfect form and technique. If this is you, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault if no one ever taught you how to perform push-ups properly. That is about to change.

Here is a list of technique and coaching points that will help YOU perform a perfect push-up:

- Pack your shoulders. We do this with Getups and presses and the same principle applies to your pushup. Tuck your elbows to your sides and pull your shoulders blades down and back: It’s critical to keep your elbows close to your ribcage while performing push-ups. Letting your elbows “sprawl” away from your torso puts your shoulder at a much greater risk for injury. Most of us tend to shrug our shoulders UP during push-ups. This puts the shoulder in a compromised position especially when we add the load of our bodyweight to the mix. A good thing to visualize is "screwing" your shoulder into it's socket by bringing the shoulders closer to the hips.

-Brace your abs for power and safety: As mentioned earlier, the push-up is a great core exercise. By pulling your sternum toward your pubic bone and bracing your abs as if you we about to be kicked in the gut, you will activate your core muscles while performing push-ups.

- Zip up: tense your thighs and squeeze your glutes: The straighter your legs are during the push-up the more stable you will be. Like the top of the kettlebell swing, we pull up our kneecaps and squeeze the glutes. This will make you plank-straight and protect your lower back by preventing it from sagging.

- Power breathing: Fill your belly with air during the lowering portion of the push-up. This intra-abdominal compression will increase your power output and stablize your spine.

Try this out and let me know if it helps!

Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp spotlight for March 2009

Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp Top 2 Exercise and Diet Tips of All-time!

Today I want to share my number ONE tip for diet and exercise that sums up what all of us need to do to get lean and stay lean.

It may seem ridiculously simple, but it is guaranteed to work.

Number ONE Exercise tip:
Choose an intelligent program that includes strength training and interval-based conditioning, the STICK WITH IT!

Number ONE Dietary tip:
Choose an intelligent eating system that focuses on eating foods in their most natural state possible, the STICK WITH IT!

Do you see the similarity? Consistency over time equals results.
Rock on!
Dave