Tony Horton Has Met His Match

My kettlebells and training video arrived, so for the next I don't know how long, Anthony Diluglio is going to be my replacement for Tony Horton. Now, it's not that I have anything against Tony (well, actually, I do find his constant hitting on Dreya Weber a bit creepy). It's just that it was time for me to grow up, be a big boy, and actually try and get some strength. Like I went into it before, P90X does make you stronger, but I need to fast forward a little more and really move things up. That means more weight, and some seriously intense workouts.

So who is this Anthony Diluglio guy? First off, he's the owner of Punch Kettlebell Gym, and the person behind the Art of Strength training DVDs. According to his bio, he is one of "America's top kettlebell instructors." However, we all know what that is - marketing fluff. We're going to have to pop the hood on his training DVDs to really evaluate his skill.

While admittedly I bought into P90X because of the never ending onslaught of 3am infomercials, in the end Tony proved to be a good instructor... even if he didn't come up with the training programs himself (and he's a little less creepy than John Basedow). Anthony and his training was suggested to me by my buddy that suggested the kettlebells. He trained with Anthony, and his exact comments were, "he's a great trainer and knows his stuff, so get his DVDs. However, he's a pompous ass." I figured that his recommendation, in spite of his personal feelings, meant that the training had to be at least halfway decent.

I always looks at things from a training perspective, and I knew that in order to be successful with kettlebells these DVDs would need to be very specific and cover all the bases. Kettlebell training can be dangerous if done wrong (remember, you're swinging around a giant piece of iron), so solid training, especially if you're doing it via DVD, is essential. Well, Disc 1 of Anthony's Art of Strength Clinic didn't disappoint. He went through all the basic moves, broke them down into pieces, and even taught "assistance" exercise that are good to help your overall technique. He also had a "problem" section for each exercise which gave you common issues people have with each move. From an instructional standpoint I was satisfied.

The unfortunate part is that I can't really tell you all that much about the workouts. My back is still a mess (thankfully I'll be at the chiropractor Monday), and some of the moves really aggravate it (and by aggravate I mean send searing pain through my lower back).

And yes, for all your kettlebell masters out there, I know that I should be using my legs and glutes with a lot of the swings and lifts. However, each move is still based on your core being at least mostly serviceable, and no matter how perfect my form, there's still stress put on the lower back. If it wasn't hurting I would be fine. Unfortunately, there are just certain ranges of motion that set it off.

My plan over the next few weeks is to use the lighter of my two bells (8kg) to go through the workouts and practice the moves. I definitely won't be working my strength like I would like, but it'll give me a chance to perfect my movements. I also need to really work on my flexibility (especially in my squats), so I won't have any lack of things to do.

For now I'm going to have to hold off on running since I know that the constant pounding puts pressure on my back. The hope is that between a few extra chiropractor appointments, the lighter kettlebell workouts, and more yoga, I'll be back into shape in no time. Then I'll be able to kick my kettlebell workouts into high gear.
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