The Art of Strength: Providence
We Take A Look At The First Work-Along-With-Your-Coach Kettlebells DVD
I am the type of person, one of very few, who will actually sit down with the entire user manual before turning on my brand new, shiny gizmo that I've been dying to use. The reason is that I am paranoid that I might do something to damage it or shorten its battery life or something like that. I have found, at times, that this approach is rewarding. But other times, all it does is heighten the anticipation and it simply becomes frustrating to the point that I finally say, "the heck with it!" and put the manual down and just get down to business. For the most part, most of us aren't like that. When we get something new, we just rip open the box and start enjoying our new present to ourself.
But when it comes to exercise, sometimes, just winging it can seem or even be a little dangerous, depending on your experience with whatever it is you're going to be trying to use. Those who just pick up a kettlebell and start curling it obviously haven't read the manual. And a person who puts his back into a two handed swing, because he some some guy on the beach doing it one time, is just asking for trouble.
That's where our featured product, the DVD entitled: "The Art of Strength: Providence" comes into the picture.
For those who would rather get right into it, without risking unnecessary injury from inexperience, can do so with this wonderful tool. No big thick book to read. No guessing on how to use the kettlebell. And thankfully, this is one instructor we can put on "pause" to catch our breath!
For People of All Fitness Levels
As is implied by the article so far, this DVD by Anthony Diluglio is perfect for the beginning kettlebell user. But don't any of you advanced gireviks brush this off as a newbies-only DVD. Near the top of the DVD cover is the phrase "for people of ALL fitness levels"... and I would definitely have to agree.
When I first began to watch the DVD (I previewed it before actually working out, so that I would know what to expect... I don't like surprises), I immediately thought, "OK, this is gonna be simple." Sure enough, though, the DVD put me in my place. (You'll be glad you kept that 1 pood.)
Anthony starts off with a warmup session of light stretches. Enjoy this time... it gets challenging quick.
While the beginner will find the first few minutes of this workout to just about the right pace, don't let the first set of swings fool you... even the advanced girevik will find this workout challenging if he has chosen a heavy enough kettlebell for the job. But trust me... you don't want to start too heavy. Swallow your pride and pick up whatever kettlebell you use for a light to moderate day. (Beginners, definitely start light... Anthony gives some advice on which kettlebell you should use in the "Intro" section.) But, if you get through the entire workout on the first try, then you definitely used too light a bell. So, adjust accordingly.
...simply follow Anthony's lead. No worrying about what exercises you should combine with what. No trying to figure out what the best rep scheme is. You don't even need a timer going to keep you honest on how long a break you should take. It's all built right into the DVD for you...
For those who are kettlebell experts, you may wonder why you would bother with a workout DVD like this one. Simple. I think that this DVD will be a great touchstone to guage your level of fitness. If you feel that you are ready to move up to the next size kettlebell (and I don't mean for a military press PR... I mean using the next size kettlebell as your primary kettlebell), going through this workout from start to finish is a great way to help you figure out if you're ready for it yet. If you can do this entire DVD workout with a certain kettlebell, then you've definitely mastered that size and, in my opinion, you're ready to move up. Because, even though this is full of basic exercises and combinations, working along with an instructor (in this case, Anthony) forces you to keep to a structured routine.
Those new to the Russian kettlebell will find this DVD to be a great place to start from. While Pavel's RKC book ("The Russian Kettlebell Challenge") is definitely required reading and the DVD by the same name is just as critical to your success in kettlebells, I believe that "The Art of Strength: Providence" is an awesome way to simply "jump right into it". If you have a brand new 16kg kettlebell sitting in front of you, chances are, you're not going to feel like sitting down for a few hours to read Pavel's (or anyone else's for that matter) book... You're going to want to just START! This DVD is great for that. You get some quick, but quality, instruction for each exercise before starting on it. Then you simply follow Anthony's lead. No worrying about what exercises you should combine with what. No trying to figure out what the best rep scheme is. You don't even need a timer going to keep you honest on how long a break you should take. It's all built right into the DVD for you.
To me, learning kettlebells for the first time is similar to learning a new diet... even though you might choose to read all the details later about the logic behind a diet, right now, you just want to know "OK, what do I eat? What do I avoid?" Right? You just want the quick version so you can get started. You'll get the education later. That's basically what "The Art of Strength: Providence" does for you... if you simply do what Anthony tells you, you will get a quality first workout that will easily kick your butt.
Ok, now that we know that this is a good buy for just about anyone who is into kettlebells, let's roll our sleeves up and start picking the DVD apart.
A Closer Look
The first thing I'd have to say about this DVD is that it provides an excellent overview of the major basic exercises. If you had ONLY this DVD, you would learn enough in general to build a very solid foundation of strength. Anthony's instruction is minimalistic and to the point. He tells you what you need to know without making you feel like a total idiot. If you're new to kettlebells, you'll notice that you don't feel inundated with details... you get what you need, and that's it. Nice, huh?
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Published November 14, 2006
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