Tools of the Trade

Just put another order in with   I know a lot of people really don't enjoy "lifting weights" so I'm always looking for creative ways to get people fit and make it fun!  Of course some people think I have a pretty twisted idea of what fun is!  The great thing about various training apparatus such as sleds, sandbags, kettlebells and ropes is that they allow us to train the body in natural positions and motions and to utilize the ENTIRE body at one time as opposed to typical strength workouts with lots of isolation movements.  The more of your body that you can use at one time, the more calories you will burn and the fitter you will be, not to mention you will improve your body's ability to work as a single unit.  The sum is greater than the whole of it's parts!  Sleds allow us to do heavy overload training to build strength, or lightly overload the body to build explosive power.  They can pushed as well as pulled and can have various harnesses and ropes attached to them.  


Battling ropes are the ultimate total body conditioning too.  Weighing anywhere from 12-50+lbs depending on the length and thickness of rope, they allow complete freedom of movement for various muscle groups and instantly ramp the heart rate up through the roof to burn tons of calories and fat!


In the gym, most weights and machines are perfectly balanced and easily moved.  In the realworld, movement happens in 3 planes of motion and we don't always have perfectly spaced and balanced handles to grip things.  Sandbags really allow us to add a real world component to our training.  There is no better way to build functional strength and power than to be forced to move around "dead weight".  


Kettlebells have really blown up in recent years as a great way to get in shape.  Shaped like a cannonball with a handle attached, they are great for training swinging type explosive movements.  The only downside to these tools are the learning curve involved in using them.  Like anything, they can help you get great results but there are some risks involved.  Private trainers like myself have led this revolution in fitness and many "big box" gyms have followed suit and now offer these types of tools.  If your tired of your same old workout routine and want to change things up, my Starving Artist Bootcamp will give you a taste of what these real world functional training is all about!