Bells Up Fitness

01/05/2022

Have you ever wanted to learn what the Kettlebell can really do?

With the new year already here and new goals being made, let me show you why using Kettlebells should be one of them.

Contact me today to sign up for my personalized Kettlebell 101 session.

We will discuss:
✔️Correct form
✔️Muscle awareness
✔️Proper Breathing
✔️Common kettlebell exercises

Whether it be in person or virtually, I would love nothing more than to come by your side and teach you the foundational techniques to properly use, my personal favorite, the Kettlebell.

06/25/2021

Deadlifting is the foundational movement for almost every kettlebell technique. Wether you’re using a kettlebell or not, it’s especially important to complete this exercise with proper form otherwise you’ll be looking at discomfort, pain and possible injury.

Deadlifting is a hip hinge based movement. As opposed to squats, hip hinges require your hips to be above your knees. This is necessary so the weight you’re lifting is placed on the correct muscles. Your lower body can then act as ‘loaded springs’, powering the weight in an upward motion.

When deadlifting, your body should rise as one unit. Meaning - your lower body shouldn’t lockout before your upper body rises (this will place the weight in your back). Your back also shouldn’t arch which elongates the arms (this will place unnecessary strain in your back and shoulders).

To execute a proper deadlift, you want to squeeze the bar like you’re going to break it (engaging your LATS). When you’re ready you’ll begin to stand up by locking your knees and hips. At the top of this lift your back, neck and shoulders should be in a neutral position while squeezing your glutes. Do NOT lean back or roll the shoulders back. Remember - the lift isn’t over until the weight is back on the ground. Squeeze the bar and push those hips back to lower the weight.

If you need any assistance working on your deadlift you can reach me by DM, email located on my profile or by commenting below. Stay safe and happy deadlifting!

06/23/2021

F A I L U R E

Most people truly believe failure is the worst thing that can happen in any given situation. So much so that it becomes a fear that prevents people from reaching their goals or it will limit what you think you can achieve.

The real truth is that failure is necessary to be successful. Unless all of your cards line up perfectly, at some point mistakes will be made and you’ll fall short of your goal. The best part of failing is looking back and identifying what went wrong and fixing it. Just because you fail doesn’t mean you should give up.

Giving up is the first thing people resort to. Often times, it’s a premature decision that’s made and it usually follows after failing. When you give up, you’re telling yourself that you aren’t capable of achieving your goal and we all know that’s a lie.

Two years ago today I went through the Strong First Kettlebell certification. I passed all of my skills tests with ease but I also had to complete 100 sn**ches in 5 minutes. I failed that sn**ch test by 5 sn**ches. One week later I attempted my sn**ch test again and completed 108 in 5 minutes. Had I given up after my initial failure I wouldn’t be here pursuing my dream today.

Never give up! Always keep fighting!

05/26/2021

When you start to descend on your Turkish Get-Up, it should look identical to your movements on the way up.

When you drop your arm back down to the floor, don’t let it drop too close to your body. You want to keep a straight line from shoulder to shoulder. Creating space between your arm and body will allow you to keep proper posture and transition into the next movements.

One of the most common errors we see descending on the TGU is after you kick the leg through to the floor. Don’t let your elbow drop behind you. If you do, when the weight gets heavy enough - you’ll come crashing down awkwardly on your upper arm. Keep the space between your arm and body so you can safely relax to the floor.

The last step is getting flat to the ground. Don’t give up on the movement as it’s not complete yet. We see a lot of people let the weight carry you to the floor - almost like you’re slamming yourself to the mat. Engage your core and resist crashing down so that you safely find your way to the floor.

If you have any questions or need any tips please email or DM me. Also, if you haven’t already - follow Building Better Humans.

05/25/2021

Check out the next step of the TGU with Building Better Humans, now just to get back to the ground! Tune in tomorrow!

05/22/2021

Stretching is one of the most essential things that you can do before any type of exercise. Without properly stretching and warming up the body, you increase the risk of tighter muscles and injury. There is an abundant amount of benefits other than improved flexibility and injury prevention such as improved balance, core strength, endurance, longevity and much more.

One of the more common stretches that I implement into my client’s warmups is a yoga pose called cat cow. This pose is great for back and neck pain as it strengthens and stretches the length of the spine into the neck. It’s also great for stretching the hip flexors and strengthening the abdomen. Another purpose for having clients learn this pose is to learn how to control the pelvic rotation.

Controlling your pelvis is one of the most important things that you can do. If your pelvis is in a posterior tilt or anterior tilt, you’ll find yourself feeling tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors and pressure adapting in the lumbar spine. This can also lead to misalignment in the hips which can lead to another series of issues throughout your body.

While there are benefits of exercises tailored to you creating an anterior or posterior pelvic tilt, it’s more important to keep your pelvis in neutral for everyday activities like walking or sitting. Keeping your pelvis in neutral will create proper alignment in your spine releasing the tightness and pressure described above.

What is the most common stretch you do before and after working out?

If you have any questions email me or shoot me a DM (link in bio)!

05/18/2021

Once you get past the first two movements of the Turkish Get-Up (as shown by Building Better Humans / )you’ve got a couple more movements to go. As stated yesterday, it is a long and very technical movement.

The leg sweep is what follows yesterday’s movements. The most common error with this phase of the TGU is how and where the back leg sweeps to. If you sweep the leg back so the knee faces forward, you’re in a weird and awkward lunge. Shifting the weight up is really difficult from here. If the leg sweeps too far back you’ll put unnecessary pressure on the front leg. You want your front leg to have a 90 degree angle and for both legs to make an L shape.

After you’ve conquered the leg sweep it’s time to get into the half kneel position. With body weight it’s easy to just pop up but with weight you’ll put pressure on your lower back. Make sure that you sit back onto your heels (hips back like a hip hinge) and spring up. This gives you the power to properly move the weight up.
Now it’s time to rotate your front leg into a half kneel position or rotate the back leg (this is known as the windshield wiper method). Both methods are perfectly fine - it’s completely up to your preference.

If you need any help at all working up to this point on your TGU please comment below or send me a message. I’d love to help you master this movement!

Keep your eyes peeled for more from Building Better Humans!

05/17/2021

Check out Day 1 of the TGU movement with Building Better Humans

05/15/2021

The faster you can move the weight the better ❌.

When you aren’t moving slow with your movements, you aren’t really feeling them the way that you should. With a squat, you shouldn’t hit the bottom of a squat and then bounce back up, as shown in the first half of the video. At the bottom of a squat, pause for a moment and then finish your movement out, as shown in the second half of the video. This will maximize your squat and it will keep you safe in the long run.

05/14/2021

That’s right! Keep your eyes peeled for the Turkish Get-Up breakdown with Building Better Humans! If you don’t know what a TGU is or you want to fine tune your movement, we’ll get you squared away!

Hey gang! Are you looking to improve your Turkish Get-Up ?!

Keep you eyes peeled 👀

I’m teaming up with Bells Up Fitness to break down all the steps for you !

05/13/2021

I’ve seen this too many times to count – especially with athletes that are going for one rep max squats. Do NOT go heavier than you can safely lift. If you get to the bottom of your squat and you cannot raise your body in one controlled motion TOGETHER you will eventually hurt yourself. As you can see in the video, my hips and glutes drive back first and then I drive my upper body separately. Out of the seven muscles a squat will work, your back should NOT be one of them – but when performed like this you absolutely will.

In the second half of the video, you’ll see that my body comes up from the base of the squat in one controlled motion. This removes any pressure from your lower back and places it in all of the necessary muscles.

If you’re currently questioning your form and technique with the squat after reading these posts or you’ve previously hurt yourself while squatting – please reach out to me. I would be more than happy to start working with you so that you can keep squatting without worrying about any possible injuries. Get those bells up and happy squatting!

05/12/2021

If you go too low on your squat and you don’t have the body awareness to keep your pelvis aligned it will begin to tuck (what we call the ‘butt wink’). This causes the lower back to come out of alignment and depending on how much of a wink there is, it will cause the back to round. This can happen even with light weight. To correct this, we need to push the hips back and dig the heels into the floor to engage the glutes. Check out the photos above for the difference between a ‘butt wink’ squat and a correct squat.

If you’re currently questioning your form and technique with the squat after reading these posts or you’ve previously hurt yourself while squatting – please reach out to me. I would be more than happy to start working with you so that you can keep squatting without worrying about any possible injuries. Get those bells up and happy squatting!