Archive for the ‘kettlebell replacement’ Category

Hyper Training Lab: Metabolic Circuit for Lower-Body w. Diane Vives

October 11th, 2011

In this week’s Hyper Training Lab, Diane uncovers a great metabolic circuit that focuses on lateral movements of the lower body.  This not only increases the energy demands by doing a four-exercise circuit that targets one movement area, but also includes lateral movements that many of us neglect.  Lateral lower body exercises allow us to train movements needed for changes of direction and frontal plane (left to right) stability, which can enhance running efficiency and injury prevention.

Lateral Lower Body Blast:

  1. Lateral Speed Squat: Start in wide position, making sure to sit back in proper position, and lunge from left to right without picking up the feet.
  2. Lateral Lunge with Reach: With this lunge you introduce a step, be sure to load the SandBell on the outside and pay attention to the grip-strength muscles being activated.
  3. Lateral Box Shuffle: It’s important with this exercise to really push off the outside leg. The SandBell load helps emphasize the change in direction when transitioning over the box step.
  4. Skaters with SandBell Reach: Make sure to push off each foot and to take the SandBell toward each shoe to load on your basis of support.

Build from 12 repetitions per exercise for 2-3 sets, once a week for beginners, and more advanced exercisers can begin at 24 repetitions per exercise for 3-4 sets, once a week.

This circuit is a great challenge to keep in your arsenal of training tools. Incorporate these exercises, and ones similar to it, to make sure you’re strengthening those lateral movement muscles. Go out, give this a try and let us know what you think!

To view this week’s Hyper Training Lab video with Diane Vives, click here!

Monday Media Scoop: Top fitness trends of 2011

August 29th, 2011

Each year it seems that the health and fitness industry receives an overwhelming influx of new fitness trends, pieces of equipment and styles of thinking. It can be hard to weed through the avenues and exercises that actually work and are here to stay, from those that are going to end up on an infomercial and sold at some kiosk in the mall.

Well, for those of you wondering just what are 2011s top fitness trends according to fitness industry leaders, look no further than here!

Jessica Belasco, blogger for mysanantonio.com discloses the findings from IDEA Health and Fitness Association’s Fitness Program and Equipment Trends Report in her blog “Boomers influence fitness trends.” The report, whose findings come from a survey sent out to top fitness program directors and facility managers, gets the scoop on what’s making waves in the health and fitness world.

According to the report, the top five programming trends in 2011 are balance training, functional resistance training, mind-body programs (i.e. yoga and tai chi), body-weight leverage training and personal training shared by two clients.

The underlying theme of “functional training” that guides these top five trends reflects the needs of baby boomers who are looking to improve their quality of life, reduce injuries and stay active as they age, says IDEA’s Executive Director Kathie Davis.

And as for 2011s top fitness equipment, body-weight leverage equipment, like the TRX suspension trainers, foam rollers, kettlebells and stability balls were among the top five.

What’s the best thing about this report? Our Hyper Wear products can be used in each and every top five programming trend. The SandBell, SteelBell and Hyper Vest PRO have shown to be successfully incorporated into nearly every type of workout. Wear the PRO vest while doing yoga, running, resistance training, etc., and use the SandBells or SteelBells in place of traditional weights to make your workouts even MORE challenging, dynamic and safe.

Our prediction for 2012 and beyond is that Hyper Wear is here to stay. No matter what fads and trends come and go, your can rest assured that using and abusing our products will get you fit and keep you fit, no matter what fitness ideology you’re following at the moment.

Workout Wednesday ~ 5.5.11 ~ SandBell sandbags and Hyper Vest PRO weight vest

May 4th, 2011

Need a quick workout mid-week that incorporates Hyper Wear’s versatile products?  Try the following mini-workout wearing your Hyper Vest PRO and use whatever size SandBells you prefer.

5 min. warm up (jumping jacks or walking in place work well)

1 min. each of the following (count reps)

> SandBell Kettlebell Single Arm Swings – Stand with feet wider than hip-distance apart.  Get a good grip on the SandBell (grip into the sand, not just the rim).  Bending at the hips, swing the SandBell between legs and then forward until level with the ground.  Get a good momentum / motion going.  Then at the top of the swing, release the SandBell and catch it with the other hand, continuing the motion.

> Butt Burners – Balance on one foot, holding a SandBell in the opposite hand.  Bend at the hips and lower the SandBell down to to the foot on the ground.  Keep your back flat and extend the back leg straight out behind you.  Return to standing and repeat.  Stay on the same leg for the entire minute.

> X chops (think Core) – Gripping a SandBell with both hands, hold it at your left hip.  “Rip” the SandBell across the body to the right shoulder then slowly lower to the right hip and “rip” it to the left shoulder.  Continue making this X motion and keep the core tight.

> Toe Taps – Place the SandBell on the ground.  Tap your right toes then your left toes on it, quickly switching between feet with a hopping movement.

> Mountain Climbers – You’ll need a slick floor for this move.  Get two SandBells of equal size and place them on the slick floor.  Turn over into push up position and plant your toes into the center of each of the SandBells.  Perform a Mountain Climber, moving your left foot, then your right foot forward and back.

Repeat whole series and try to beat your number of reps from the first round

5 min. cool down

Weekend Warrior – Bill Meyer with SteelBells and SandBells

April 30th, 2011

You’ve all seen Bill Meyer, our Monday Morning Muscle guru, come up with hundreds of unique ways to use his Hyper Vest PRO, Hyper Vest COOL, SandBells, and SteelBells.  So, when I asked him to send me pics of anything out of the ordinary he uses them for, this is what I got:

Bill and his bride-to-be, Lauren Sparrow, are not only planning  a wedding, but they are also opening a new fitness facility in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, called Meyer Fitness.  Their tag line is “Serious Fitness, Seriously Fun” and knowing those two it will be beyond fun!  They are both fitness FREAKS and are so passionate to get people active…it’s contagious!  In fact, I owe much of my fitness transformation to the encouragement and support of these two amazing folks!

So, the picture above came with the explanation that this weekend, they would be laying flooring at Meyer Fitness.  Looks to me like the SandBells and SteelBells would be holding flooring in place as they secured it…  If I know Bill and Sparrow, they did a few slams or lunges everytime they picked them up to move to a different area of the floor!

Thanks, Bill, for being a Weekend Warrior!

Now it’s your turn to show us how YOU are a Weekend Warrior!  Send pics and descriptions of how you use your Hyper Wear gear in different ways on the weekends to suzi (at) hyperwear (dot) com and you could be our next Weekend Warrior!

SandBells yield Irrepressible Enthusiasm!

April 7th, 2011

Today, we want to say, “Thank you!” to Rocannon MacGregor.  He runs Sanctuary Healing Clinic and the Primal Gymnasium and is so uplifting to talk to!  Joe, on of the amazing members of the Hyper Team, described Rocannon as having “Irrepressible Enthusiasm.”  I think it fits…read below and see if you agree!

Hi Joe,

I just emailed this list out to my clients.
I thought you might like to have a copy.

I could have written 100 reasons.
But I thought I would save a few for another email.

Please feel free to use any or all of what I wrote in any way it serves to get the WORD out about SandBells.
I think every school in the nation needs to have them.
SandBells would go a long way to making P.E. Fun & Juicy, instead of boring and dry.

25 Reasons YOU Should get Sandbells

  1. They are fun to play with.
  2. They are so much fun you might actually find someone else to play with you. With only 1 SandBell several people could get a great series of moves going.
  3. You can throw them with your parents, children, friends, strangers…..because they are easy to use.
  4. SandBells are much safer to throw around than a medicine ball. I have been hit by a medicine ball many times and by the SandBells as well. There is a huge difference. SandBells  are soft and they just don’t have the same impact on a body that a hard medicine ball does (or a kettlebell or club or mace or sledgehammer).
  5. They take up very little space but you can get a terrific Nature Playout with them.
  6. They can be used in place of dumbells, clubs, kettlebells etc. And since they are soft, people that are learning can do so more safely with reduced likelihood of injuring themselves. I use SandBells just as a change of pace from Clubs and KBs.
  7. You can have one stashed in your vehicle so that you always have at least one Primal Tool/Toy on hand. And the SandBell will not roll around in the car or scratch/dent anything.
  8. They are safe to use when you are experimenting with new moves.
  9. You can be very creative with the SandBells. I have already developed a huge repertoire of moves using them.
  10. You can smash the SandBells to the ground.
  11. You can throw the SandBells like a shot put or discus or any other way you choose.
  12. The SandBells do not roll when you throw them.
  13. With one or two SandBells you can quickly increase the challenge level your moves from the Daily Dozen Series.
  14. You can do what we call the Hike & Toss when you are out hiking with a friend. Just take a single SandBell and be creative in all the ways you can play with it on the hike with a friend (or by yourself).
  15. SandBells can be used safely by one person, or with two, or many people.
  16. SandBells are exceptionally fun to use with a 6 or more people. You can come up with all manner of challenging patterns of throw, movin’ & groovin’.
  17. SandBells are an excellent tools for rehab or prehab.
  18. SandBells are an excellent choice to blend with bodyweight moves.
  19. SandBells are outstanding for Active Recovery Days.
  20. SandBells are an extremely fun way to Warm Up or Warm Down.
  21. SandBells can be used by people of all ages and skill levels.
  22. You can intersperse SandBell moves between Kettlebell, Club, Sledgehammer or Mace moves to spice up your workout.
  23. You can do a Run & Toss with a partner. This is a great way to spice up a run and to get upper body and core activation going in what is usually and primarily a lower body activity.
  24. Load a few SandBells in your backpack when you are training for a long distance trek. Then take ‘em out and throw ‘em around with your friends.
  25. Take a SandBell to work with you. On your break make it a Movement Break and use your SandBell to get energized. I’ll bet you will soon have someone who wants to do it with you.

Live Large & Loud,
Rocannon MacGregor, Ph.D.
Sanctuary Healing Clinic & Primal Gymnasium

Thanks, Rocannon!  We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!  :)

A Word on Functional Fitness – Hyper Vest PRO & SandBell Style

November 17th, 2010

If you’ve ever spent any amount of time talking with someone from Hyper Wear or watching any of our videos, you know that we LOVE functional fitness.  We believe in the practicality of training the way you move in everyday life.  If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you need muscles that will enable you to pick up the baby, vacuum the floor, put away groceries, etc.  If you are an athlete on the basketball court, you need first-step quickness, rebounding ups, overall quickness, etc. You get the idea.

No matter what you do, you use certain muscles throughout your day.  Why bother building big muscles that don’t actually do anything besides lift a weight in a linear fashion?  We think muscles aren’t just there to look pretty, they should actually serve a purpose – to make what you do every day a little easier.

The Hyper Vest PRO is, of course, the most functional of all.  A weighted vest that you can wear around all the time, no matter what you’re doing, means you are building specific muscles for what you do.  Makes sense, huh?  But our SandBells are also high on the functional fitness scale.  Because they are so safe and so versatile, you can use them to mimic lots of real-world movements without worrying about dropping them on your toe, or bumping some body part with them.

Speaking of bumped body parts, I must confess, I am in my thirties, but my my knees look like the knees of a little kid.  They’re always bruised and scraped from when I miscalculate the speed and / or direction of some other piece of fitness equipment and my knee gets in the way.  I’m just thankful I’ve never been that clumsy with a kettlebell, but that’s mostly because I never use them!  Why bother when a novice user like myself can get all the same benefits from doing the same moves with a SandBell?  Forgive this short commercial break…now back to our regularly scheduled blog post…

The point of all this is to direct you to an article put out by the Mayo Clinic called “Functional fitness training: Is it right for you?“  It’s a good run down of the definitions, benefits, and even equipment of functional training, but someone needs to get those guys a Hyper Vest PRO and SandBells…

Dallas Police Rockin’ SandBells, SteelBells, and Hyper Vest – MMM #73

September 27th, 2010

Good Monday Morning!

This week I was visited by some of our new friends from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Police Training Group. The PTG’s mission is to provide clinics and workshops all around the country instructing proper techniques of improved law enforcement and self defense.

We met up with them recently in Austin, TX, and showed them a little bit about how the SandBell and Hyper Vest PRO could assist with their goals; as well as the Hyper Wear Team learning more about the needs of combat tactic specialization. The team of guys that came down were ready to train hard from the get go and awesome to work with for 3 hours. We started off at a slow but steady pace, but by the end of 3 hours, these guys were toast! We also exchanged training philosophies, funny stories, and even came up with some new ideas for training together! So, enough talk, let’s get to work! Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNFRzhm2uRg[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #73

Kettlebell Swing with SandBell and SteelBell – MMM #51

April 19th, 2010

Good Monday Morning!

So this week in the comparison series, we step up to the plate against one of the most popular training tools of late: the Kettlebell. Now, the Kettlebell offers absolutely wonderful benefits in full-body strength, stabilizing, and explosive movements; however, almost every one of these moves can be done using a SandBell or SteelBell.  The difference is, Kettlebells are notorious for causing bruising and worse injuries when used improperly while the SandBell and SteelBell are second to none when it comes to safety of a piece of weighted equipment.  In addition, there are so many moves you can perform with the SandBell and SteelBell that are just not possible with the Kettlebell.

Today’s video shows a very popular Kettlebell exercise, the traditional “swing” movement, but done with a SandBell and SteelBell.  I myself am not an avid Kettlebell user; however, several of my friends in training are.  Each and every one of them to whom I’ve showed Hyper Wear’s products have taken to them and seen the benefits instantly!

As always, feedback is welcomed because what is a forum of exercise videos without some good, healthy banter between fitness advocates!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdqtnIWl3H8[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #51

Sandbells Featured in Men’s Health Magazine

March 11th, 2010

menshealth2010

Men’s Health Magazine has featured Hyper Wear in the past, but this is our Sandbell’s first feature.  If you haven’t ran to pick up the latest issue, here’s what they had to say about the Sandbells:

Sling some sand around
This new dumbbell substitute builds your forearms

You may be used to lifting heavy, solid objects, but there’s value in going soft. SandBells, stretchy neoprene disks filled with sand, can be used like dumbbells, kettlebells, or medicine balls. “The shifting sand forces you to work your grip, which triggers more muscle activation in your wrists and forearms, “says Jim Liston, C.S.C.S., owner of Competitive Athlete Training Zone in Pasadena, California. They’re also easier on your joints. Sizes range from 2 pounds to 50 pounds. hyperwear.com

If you are already using the sandbells, we’d love to hear how you’re using them.  Leave us a comment, and give us the scoop.