Brian Copeland's Core Fitness, Kettlebell Training for a Strong Body

First off I have to give it to this guy, this looks hard and he made the first jump but is this really a good idea?

I can appreciate the human will to try and do creative challenging things, people do it all of the time.

But if it is for the sake of fitness or athleticism, just stick to the basics.

As coach Charles Staley says, "every rep has a cost but not every rep has a benefit."

3. Training Tip #1: "Z Health"

After last week's awesome workshops with Andrea DuCane and Zachariah Salazar, not only am I even more resolved to get my folks better at the skill of kettlebell lifting but I am very excited to include Z Health training into my mix.

Z Health, for those who don't know, is a system that trains the nervous system to work at it's potential. It certainly is more than simple joint mobility as many think.

To illustrate some results of of Z Health training, in less than a week of doing Z:

• I dropped to the deepest front split of my life, cold with no warm up and I hadn't stretched prior to that in about a month
• I haven't had or needed a massage in several weeks and my muscles are not tight
• I had pretty much given up on practicing ground fighting in my self-defense training (Brazilian Jujitsu was out!) due to tightness in my low back that could easily injure. The other day I rolled with a buddy for an hour and had no issues!
• I can kick higher, easier
• I feel looser and energetic, like I just want to run, jump and do flips or something

My clients have had some great results too:

• Touching their toes for the first time in their lives
• Unable to do a bodyweight lunge from a Turkish Get Up position, then with a few simple Z Health R-Phase toe pulls they could Get Up lunge with a kettlebell overhead
• The list goes on

How do you get some of this action?

Well if you are a personal or group client of mine you don't have a choice, I am grafting Z Health into our normal training.

If you are an online client or just read my newsletters, you can try to find a local Z Health trainer in your area (hard to do, there aren't many) or you can buy the R-Phase DVD and manual from Z Health.

Better yet, use the link on my site on the left-hand side bar that leads to Z Health's website and find the R-Phase DVD/manual. It is worth it if you want to get healthier, more athletic, eliminate pains and tightness and regain lost mobility. Anyone who doesn't want those things is kinda funny in the head...

Use the link below:

4. Training Tip #2: "The Mighty Cheetah"

Herd animals have eyes on the sides of their heads which gives them a very non-specific but broad field of vision to detect predators. Predatory animals have front facing eyes for a very narrow field of vision because they are made to focus in on their prey and ignore everything else.

They focus, sprint, kill, eat and take a nap.

Why do I bring up wild animal kingdom in a fitness article?

Because I ate paint chips as a kid... and because humans have the forward facing eyes of a predator.

What does this mean?

Humans, like the mighty cheetah, were not meant to jog for several hours in indecently short shorts. We were meant to focus, sprint, get it done and take a nap!

Don't agree with my analogy?

Ok fine.

Let's take it from Dr. Al Sears the nation's leading expert on reversing heart disease. Dr. Sears says that people don't have heart attacks because their hearts are too tired and give up... that is called dying of old age.

People have heart attacks because of a traumatic event that causes a large amount of blood to the heart and the heart and vascular system can't handle the load.

Ok... so how should I train to make my heart stronger?

First off, ditch the whole concept of lengthy aerobics. They serve little purpose.

What you need for a healthy heart is something more intense. Anaerobic cardio is what we need as humans. It makes us more athletic and give us a larger stronger heart, not to mention mirroring real-life activities such as helping a friend move furniture into their new house.

Extended periods of jogging for long distances makes your heart smaller, weaker and inflamed not to mention the plantar fasciitis and other soft tissue and joint damage it can cause to dedicated joggers. Sorry to burst some bubbles but long-distance jogging is pretty unhealthy.

If you don't believe me, there have been studies on this going back to the 80s and possibly further. I can send you one if you email me.

Sprinting for short distances on the other hand makes your heart bigger, stronger, able to handle large volumes of blood, has less impact on your joints and makes your connective tissues stronger.

Of course you can over do sprinting and if you aren't in shape for it then kettlebell swings would fit the bill even better.

Now, let's just to stay grounded here and not get this blown out of proportion. If you do effective strength training, high intensity cardio and take a 1-mile jog once or twice a week, this isn't the same as being a jogger. A jogger jogs... a lot, and probably doesn't do anything else.

However, I will challenge you to this... Why do the jogging? What is it getting you that you aren't getting from your strength and high intensity cardio? If you have a valid answer then great! If not then realize that you are doing redundant work that is just taxing your system and not allowing you to recover from more effective training.

Your Super Heart Athletic Joint Connective Tissue Fat Burning Thingy Workout Training Session of Choice!

They are called Tabata Protocols.

Named after a Japanese researcher who did lots of experiments on the optimal intervals for improving both short and long distance cardio output. So even marathon runners can use this program to improve their long distance cardio and jog less at the same time!

Pick an exercise or a handful of exercises that you can use maximum output: Jumping, sprinting, kettlebell snatches or swings, burpees, kettlebell bear crawls, etc.
You will work for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off
You will need some kind of reliable timer, preferably with a beep so you can't cheat on the time (a Gymboss timer is perfect)
Do 8 rounds max
Don't be afraid to start with only 4 rounds, this is hard-core work
If you are out of shape then you should do this sub-maximally. So instead of maximum output use an easy pace and over time work up to a more challenging pace.
In just under 4 minutes you just got the cardio and athletic bottom kicking of your life. You are now a better man or woman.

If you doubt my science then look at the body of a top sprinter and then the body of a top marathon runner... which looks better nekkid?

Athletic training with kettlebells in aurora colorado denver dtc greenwood village park meadows

Now do you doubt my wizardry?

Ok, now the next part of the story...

Do you like jogging? Does it put you in a state of bliss?

Guess what I'm going to tell you to do?

Go jogging!

If you enjoy the activity then do it. Don't use it as a means to fitness, use kettlebells and Z Health to correct the issues caused by jogging so that you can enjoy jogging pain-free.

I enjoy Martial Arts. But they are not especially healthy on the body, particularly the contact variety, but guess what? They have their place and it ain't fitness!

Use the right tool for the right job. Jogging is for fun or sport not fitness. Martial Arts are for fun, self-defense, sport, etc. but not fitness.

Are ya feelin me?

Until next time, train like an athlete not a hamster!

PS. If you are watching late-night infomercials and are thinking of buying the "Ab Gizmo 3000" or "Dance Your Way to a Super Six-Pack" don't bother. Save yourself some hard earned doubloons and instead purchase my Personalized Program Design. I'll get you better results with your own body weight and you won't have to make installments on an expensive piece of crap that sits in the corner collecting dust for the next 10 years for crying out loud!

5. Nutrition Tip: "The Sweet Spot for Losing Fat or Gaining Muscle"

I've written about various eating methods, food types, etc, etc, etc. Let's talk philosophy for a moment.

There is an optimal amount of food everyone needs and over or under that amount will give results different from what you want.

Take note of the graph below:

What I'm about to show you is hypothetical and will change based on the caloric needs of the individual.

But let us say that to maintain someone's body fat and muscle they need 3000 calories per day.

The old-school thought would be, less calories = fat loss and more calories = muscle gain. Well, yes and no.

As you can see from the model as you eat too many calories you start to gain fat along with the muscle, no one would argue that.

What many people don't understand is that as you get too low with calories the body goes into starvation mode and begins storing body fat like crazy. Here is an analogy for you; if you were going to take a long extended drive in the desert and thought there might not be any gas stations for a long time, might you put a couple extra gallons full of gas in the trunk?

Well to your body, when you are eating too few calories it thinks you are starving and puts some extra fuel (fat) in 'your' trunk (kaboose aka butt, hips, gut, etc.) This is the "Store fat slightly starvation mode" from above.

Now we all know people who have gone on a radically low calorie diet and lost a lot of weight very quickly only to gain it back again. The problem is that since the body can't store energy and it is in an energy crisis, it goes berserk and decreases the size of your fat, muscles, organs (your brain and heart are organs) to drastically lower your basal metabolic rate, the rate at which you burn calories while resting.

When these folks start to eat a little more and get even enough calories to store guess what the body does?

It hordes them! They store all that fat ASAP.

Just like the Mad Max Road Warrior movies where gas was a precious commodity, fat (stored energy) is a precious commodity for your body and it stores it like gang-busters!

What you need is to find your sweet spot where you are eating the right amount of calories to lose the fat but not so few that you go into starvation mode.

This is one of the reasons you know people who can eat junk food and stay skinny, they are at their sweet spot for their metabolism. Junk calories are still calories all the same. More could be said about this as mixing protein with each meal helps prevent insulin response but I digress for now.

For instance, I have a hard time getting enough food, what can I say, I need to eat more?!

I can down ice cream like no one's business and still have a six pack unless I go too low in my calories. Yes, I know, go ahead, be mad at me!

When I don't get enough calories I get "skinny-fat" meaning that my muscle drops and my fat increases, from not eating enough. When I up my calories above 2500 per day consistently (which is still way less than my maintenance) I gain muscle and lose body fat. I am gaining the muscle I should have all of the time but don't because I am not eating enough.

Hey, awareness is step one of fixing the problem, right?

If you want to know how to determine your optimal calories shoot me an email.

Until next time...

Eat like an Athlete, look good nekkid!

6. Denver Metro Area:
"Kettlebell Classes in Aurora"

Yep it's that time again. New Year's Resolution Time!

And what better way to kick off the new year right than with fun and butt kicking kettlebell classes taught by yours truly.

If you are new to kettlebells, I promise not to kill you... the first session ;-)

If you have been away for a while, time to come back and jump on the success train; have you seen the Hall of Achievements section?!

Classes are $19 per session for drop-in rates

Unlimited Month of Classes Discounts are available

Military, Police, EMT, Firefighter discount available (inquire please)

Classes are kept fairly small and have good fun people in them who all encourage each other to do their best!

You will get lots of personalized attention, improved kettlebell technique, general fitness and nutrition tips and the best body of your life!

What in the world are you waiting for?!

Email me today for more info brian@bccorefitness.com

7. HardStyle Magazine:
"Download the Latest Issue for Free!"

What you’ll get in this issue:

#1 HardStyle goes Hollywood—-Enter the Dragon’s John Saxon at 71 years old presses the 70lb KB overhead! and finds a new vitality with Pavel’s Russian Kettlebell training
Interview with Dr. Mark Cheng, RKC Team Leader

#2 The Hungarian kettlebell revolution—-how a Krav-Maga instructor has inspired his fellow-countrymen to crush with kettlebells!
By Peter Lakatos, RKC

#3 Killer deadlift variations for foolproof strength gains—-an excerpt from Power to the People! Monthly
By Pavel

#4 How to Prepare for—-and PASS—-the RKC Instructor Certification Workshop
By Brett Jones, Master RKC Instructor

#5 Hurting?—-Find the REAL Problem Behind the Obvious Complaint
By Brett Jones, Master RKC Instructor and Gray Cook, PT, RKC

#6 “It’s not a matter of IF kettlebells will work for you; it’s a matter of HOW to work with them to fit your needs.”
By Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC Instructor

#7 Real World Power—-the Cardio Connection
By Kenneth Jay, MSc., Senior RKC

#8 How to assess and fix length tension relationships—-to eliminate pain, reduce the chance of injury and enhance your athletic performance
By Mark Reifkind, Senior RKC

#9 Superman—-the reinvention and rise of Mark Reifkind in the hardcore world of competitive weightlifting and strength training
Interview with Dr. Mark Cheng, RKC Team Leader

This is a great quarterly magazine that I read religiously, heck I've even appeared in it a few times.

Download it for free by clicking on the picture.

8. Hall of Achievements:

Our newest updates:..

Alee Vang Webb - Deadlift 132 lbs

Ed Stump - Bent a Nail with his hands (Iron Mind White Nail)

Dr John Hamilton, DC - Did a pistol with each leg

Too many others for me to remember! Lots of people getting really good with their cleans and snatches and starting to do pistols!

See all achievements on the "Achievements" link at the left navigation bar at the top of the page or click here

9. Personalized Program Design:
"Tired of Not Reaching Your Goals?"

One of my recent female clients went down 2 belt sizes in a month! She did it in just 15 minutes 3 - 5 nights per week and from the privacy of her own home using just her own bodyweight!

What are you waiting for?

Let's face it, we are our own worst trainers! We are great at telling other people what to do with their exercise programs but we can't seem to figure our's out to meet our goals.

Whether you are an athlete who needs to perform better at their sport, a guy or gal who wants to look better at the beach, maybe you just want a healthy heart and joints or you want a combination of all three; I can help you get there.

What is Personalized Program Design?

A custom "personalized" training program for created just for you. I take into consideration your goals, time, lifestyle, equipment you have access to, etc. You follow this on your own at home, the gym or where ever. Have kettlebells? Barbells? Dumbbells? Just your bodyweight? No problem!

Who needs Personalized Program Design?

New to Exercise:
- You know you want to get 'in-shape' but you have no idea of how to do it. Let me show you exactly what to do and how to progress.
Wants to Work Out at Home:
- Custom made training program based on your lifestyle, time, equipment or lack there of.
Hates Gyms:
- Join the club, or rather don't, I can't stand them either. Train at home with whatever equipment you have access to. You would be amazed what you can do with just your body weight if that's all you have.
Short on Time:
- You CAN exercise for 15-20 minutes per day 3-6 days per week easy! If not you are making excuses. I'll show you how, and yes this is effective. But don't kid yourself, you will be working your butt off!
Been Training for Years But Haven't Reached YOUR Goals:
- You need a fresh outside perspective on your training. You also need an experienced professional coach to show you the way. I am both of those. All you need to provide is the elbow grease and sweat!

Quit making excuses and treat yourself, you deserve it!

Learn more about my Personalized Program Design here

10. Charity in Focus:
"Precious Ones Outreach International"

My friend Janet "Ama" Annan has a special place in her heart for orphaned and abused children all over the world. She is the founder of Precious Ones of God Outreach International a non-profit organization that takes in orphaned and neglected children and gives them clothes, housing, food and schooling. I have volunteered my time and talents with this organization and can tell you that they are legitimate and make a real difference in the lives of hurting children. In fact, Janet and her husband both work full-time jobs just so they can provide more money to help the children. She can use all of the support she can get. No guilt trip but if you are moved in your heart then please visit her at her website here.

Until next time, train and eat like ATHLETES not hamsters and reap the rewards of a healthy, lean, sexy/studly body!

Brian Copeland, RKC

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Brian Copeland's Core Fitness Newsletter

Brian Copeland's
Core Fitness Newsletter