Kettlebells: Tool of choice

I'm not big on using external resistance (i.e. weights, machines, etc.) unless one has already become effective at using and controlling one's already existent body weight. In my experience working out and being a physical trainer, there is no healthy reason one should be doing, bench presses let's say, without first being very effective at doing proper, full range of motion pushups for multiple reps. If you do not have the core stability to hold up your hips in proper alignment, stabilize your neck in a safe isolated neutral position and stabilize your shoulder capsule while bringing your body down to the ground and then up again against the forces of gravity. What makes you think bench pressing 225 lbs off your chest makes any sense whats so ever? It doesn't... And don't get me started on these folks who are doing lat pulldowns but still have not even been able to do one chinup.

But what do I see all the time when I'm working out in the gym? People hyperextending their backs while do bench presses, necks leaning forward when ever someone is trying to push or pull weight, knees caving inward while someone is attempting to lift hundreds of pounds of weight off the floor...injury after injury, pain after pain, wasted energy and people taking it as if thats the way strength training was expected to be.

So for a long time I stayed away from weights and machines, trying to focus on my body weight, doing my pushups regularly, mastering my squats and pullups, taking my yoga and martial art classes. Then I came across tools that enhanced my body weight training, namely suspension trainers, like the TRX suspension trainer www.trxtraining.com and my favorite but less well know Jungle Gym XT put out by my friends at www.monkeybargym.com. These took my training to the next level.

So instinctively when I was introduced to Kettlebells a few years back I was a bit of a skeptic. I had lost a lot of faith in the effectiveness of weight training for the general population, but there was something appealing about this weird shaped bell that intrigued me. So I started researching the tool and found that it was a piece of equipment that originated from Eastern Europe and became the training tool of that region and was studied closely by the exercise scientist of Soviet Russia, who as many of you know I place a lot of trust in because of their track record of wanting to advance the nature of a human being as opposed to most of these weight training companies who's only motivation is to produce a product that they can "sell" to the consumer market.

A mentor of mines introduced me to the basic concepts and I was hook. No other weight or machine allowed for the freedom in motion and uneven weight distribution that the Kettlebell does. The dynamic nature of the swinging effect and the battle against inertia not only made me feel stronger but worked multiple muscles all at once, creating an additional great caloric expenditure. It brought balance to my muscles, so I was never just isolating or over developing just one muscle but evenly strengthening myself. I eventually went on to get my status as a KettleBell instructor through KettleBell Concepts and have been teaching individuals and groups how to get the best out of them for the past two years or so.

Would I say its the only way to weight train? No...but I would said Kettlebells are definitely my tool of choice. If you can definitely check them out, get a trainer to show you some of the basics with them. Please make sure the trainer is certified to do so, because they can be very dangerous if used incorrectly. And if you want to buy a pair, check out the ones put out by LifeLine  they put out a really great version. Also air on the side of heavy with Kettlebells, because a lot of the movements are assisted by total body muscular recruitment and you'll have them forever, so buy a pair you'll grow into.... so get to the swinging suckas!!

Anniversary and Website Launch Cookout

It first started by sitting down and building about our health and how our bodies felt. A couple of us had been working out regularly and seeing great results, feeling good about our bodies and looking for new ways to take our health to the next level. These conversations usually took place after a great workout or during a nice healthy meal. Our circle was composed of not only health conscious individuals but we were all also part of the social justice movement, working daily on issues around workers' rights, fighting against racism, sexism homophobia and xenophobia, involved in the anti-war/imperialism movement and struggles to bring about healthcare reform. It only seemed natural for us to start talking about health issues on the grand scale and how we could facilitate a movement through the avenue of fitness and healthy living to better our conditions. This is how Revolutionary Fitness was founded.

It has been a year since we at Revolutionary Fitness began our mission to spread the idea and practice of healthy living in the communities that have felt the brunt of poor health conditions here in New York City. We first began with simply hosting an outdoor fitness class at St. Nicholas Park in Harlem on Thursday nights, where we invited friends and people from the neighborhood to participate in. After which we would all chip in a couple of bucks to purchase some fresh produce and put together some healthy plant-based nutrition meals for everyone to grub on. It became apparent early on that many people were receptive to these classes and the need in the underdeveloped communities of NYC for this type of work was very high in demand.

We then began to expand and started hosting classes in other neighborhoods throughout the city. Since then we have held donation based fitness classes in Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, Central Park, Crown Heights, East New York, Bushwick, Astoria, Lower East Side, El Barrio, Woodside, Coney Island, Fordham Road and even Brighton Beach. We began expanding our staff to meet the rise in demand, sharing our vision of movement with all those we encountered. Many participants have been empowered to begin leading RevFit classes of their own, and many fitness professionals have worked with our vision using RevFit as an avenue to do donation based work in addition to their fitness businesses. We have also had the opportunity to build with many organizations about our work, been on Pacifica radio, and shared our newsletter with all our supporters via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

In our second year we have many new and exciting things on the horizon. We will continue to provide donation based general fitness classes on a regular basis. Our new Spring Schedule which we recently put out can be found here in this issue of our newsletter. We will be going on a speaking tour over the next few months throughout the Northeast, spreading the vision of Revolutionary Fitness to other regions. We have developed an Apprentice Trainer Program and High School Internship Program. Our new fully functioning website will provide nutritional and fitness information as well as a vehicle to encourage activism and organizing around food and social justice issues. We will be hosting cookouts, bike tours, beach parties, fitness competitions, and other group activities promoting movement and community. We will be developing specialty classes such as, self-defense, pre-post natal health, kettle bells, advanced yoga, stability training, dance and the more people who we meet the more possibilities we can come up with in order to continue promoting movement. Most importantly we will be leading public health campaigns to bring attention and action to some of the many poor conditions our people have been forced to live in.

Join us on Saturday, June 18th as we celebrate our one year anniversary at the Revolutionary Fitness Cookout. We will be hosting the Celebration Cookout at Thomas Jefferson Recreational Park on 114th street and 1st avenue. We will have great food to grub on, live DJs throughout the day, fitness games and activities for the entire family to enjoy, babysitting for those parents who need a break to do some warrior poses with us, handball, basketball, and just casual conversations with folks from all walks of life.

Revolutionary Fitness was founded to facilitate movement in our communities, not just with our bodies in terms of exercising and eating well but also in our effort to better the conditions of our communities. Come out and celebrate with us, we appreciate everyone's continued support in this important work. As always come check out some of our activities and Let's Move Together!