Tuesday, September 1, 2015

New Easier Kettlebell Workout from Zuzka and Her Latest Schedule, The Top 3 Ab Exercises

So Zuzka has out her latest schedule:

Workout Schedule


She has a Kettlebell and Jump Rope Workout this week. 

(To purchase KB's Click HERE or Jump Ropes. Click HERE

Zuzka mentions that her KB workout is not that hard:

This was not an extremely hard workout, but it did challenge me in terms of my strength and balance. If you didn’t feel like it challenged you at all, then you really need a heavier kettlebell because that’s a sign that you have outgrown your old one. I’ve been using my 26lb Kettlebell for over 4 years now and I haven’t felt like I need to increase the size. You too will find a weight that you’ll be able to stick with for the rest of your life, but it may take a few more workouts ðŸ˜‰



I can understand what she is saying there, but I also disagree. Using a 26lb for 4 years and not feeling the need to increase size? Really? I can see if it was a 60 lb bell! But at some point you want heavier or you need to change something (reps, speed, rest time, etc) to make gains. Swinging around a 26lb for 4 years isn't going to do much for most people because how many are you going to do? 500? Lol. I understand at some point you don't just keep adding weight because it in unrealistic to think after 4 years you'll keep increasing weight and be swinging a 200 lb bell. 
But you need to do something to make it harder. 

I can do most of Z's workouts with a 26,35 and 44 lb bell, or heavier for the swings depending on how many she is doing. I wonder if she does this also because they are at home workouts. She does not want to give people the impression you need to go out and buy a lot of equipment. I am sure this is on purpose to differentiate herself from bodyrock.tv as they have every piece of equipment under the sun! 

Anyways, there are a TON of articles out there are the best ab exercises. Even BR.TV has their own share of a gazillion posts on the topic. I decided to look up what Bret says! And I've got it for you. I can't wait to try these today. :) 


Let me know if you try them. Enjoy!




14 comments:

  1. I've been working on upping my weight from 25 to 30, then 40 -- I made progress before but regressed a little because I got sick. Then I got focused on leaning out more and then got side tracked.

    I think by doing ~just~ strength days instead of incorporating cardio, I can make gains and pare down at the same time. Just need to figure out a schedule. But I do agree with you; the challenge in part comes from increasing the weight! But I dunno; what she's been doing seems to have worked for her.

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  2. Actually, doesn't Zuzka also own a 44lb KB? She mentioned this already, but uses it rarely in her workouts. I suspect she uses it for her personal non-filmed strength training (just a guess).
    I bought my first kettlebell (26lbs) in January, and by now I feel like I've outgrown it. I cannot imagine that Zuzka still feels challenged by hers. Don't think she's just saying that for publicity. Zuzka rocks her own workouts, but when she does other types of athletics (like with that indoor beach gym, rappelling off the building, even jumping into a pool) she seems oddly uncoordinated. Dunno, just an observation.

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  3. I agree M, she seems like a fish out of water, when she doesnt do kettlebells, jump rope, burpees and yoga! I would like to see Zuzka try to challenge herself with a barbell workout e.g. the barbell snatch. I had a very easy time learning the kettlebell snatch, but the heavy barbell snatch is still very diffucult for me to master (current weight only about 100 lbs). She has on numerous occations mentioned that if you do her workouts you will be profficient at almost everything e.g. pistols, headstands/handstands, KB snatches, pull ups (in spite of rarely incorporating pull exercises) etc. I dont think she is unathletic, she certainly isnt, I just think like many other people, she remains in her comfort zone of "medium weights and high intensity" as well as HIIT cardio, instead of pushing the strength, making a running program, showing how you could do a gym workout (instead of making fun of them) etc. I think BR does the same but to an even larger degree - they rarely ever do anything but timed intervals and 98 % of the time cardio heavy. I would like these sites to challenge themselves with something completely new. I dont mind Z or Lisa saying on camera "I find this very difficult and new, but we are gonna get better together", i dont mind them having a different (heavier or lighter) weight than me, i would just like to see them try pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. :)

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    1. You're right. It's a lot of cardio and HIIT. However, with Zuzka, she seems to put on muscle mass really quickly....I mean, she doesn't even do regular burpees anymore because she said she doesn't want her arm muscles to get too big. I feel like Zuzka is able to put on muscle really fast with her HIIT workouts and a little bit of strength training via the kettlebell. It seems to be entirely enough for her to look as ripped as she does. Unfortunately, it's not enough for the rest of us.

      With Lisa, it's an entirely different issue for me. First of all, I very rarely look at their page now, and only for Edith. I find Lisa's form atrocious with most exercises, and she doesn't seem to be strong at all! She even really struggles with a set of 10 push ups (dipping her head down constantly instead of doing an actual push up). It's odd.

      HOWEVER...that is what you sign up for with Zuzka and BR: HIIT and "get into the best shape of your life in only 15 minutes a day". I would find the idea of weight-centered workouts with both of them intriguing, but that is not what they are all about, and they will never head that way (after all, the reason I pay for Zgym is because I can do all the workouts at home. If I wanted a more wholesome training plan, I would not recommend either of them). Edith seems to lift weights and it shows how well-rounded her physique is, and she is quite strong! I like her a lot and she is the only reason I've begun looking at BR's site again after a long time.

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    2. I am well aware that if i am unsatisfied i can just unfollow, but i think they should concider incorporating more strength, outdoor exercise, technique enchancement etc to get more costumers! Zuzka could do a strength series and just demo the moves, if she is afraid of being to bulky ;)

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    4. Haha, yes, I could just unfollow everyone too, but I so enjoy discussing all of this :-)

      Of course a more advanced strength training program from Zuzka would be great, but I personally don't think she knows how since it's so easy for her to look the way she does (her genetic advantage just comes up again and again). The only person she's ever trained is herself. I think her knowledge of fitness ends with her ability to maintain her own look.

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    5. Yeah I think what you say also showed, when she trained those 7-8 women for a month - she expected them all to look like a fitness model after 30 days, because she can do it! She seem quite disillutionate about bodies, but i guess we know that by now, and i for one dont expect her to learn anymore xD
      About strength and bulkiness this excuse from her kills me, because when i trained for my powerlifting meet in march i didnt gain more than 2 pounds and my body hardly changed in looks (i am like 70 % mesomorph and has naturally higher testsostorone levels - 1/7 women have 2-3 times more than the average woman - i also gain muscle very easily), so if you train in a 5-8 x 1-6 rep range your strength will increase dramatically if weights are heavy enough without ripping your body like hypertrophy training like the classic 3-4 x 8-12 range
      I love discussing it too and it is great to hear you other guys' points, i feel like i learn so much!

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    6. I am loving all these comments!
      I agree - and have said it before, Zuzka is a genetic freak. Whatever she is doing works for her, but does not work for most people. If it did, then more of us would be walking around looking like her.
      I think her training ability ends with herself as well, but lets face it - she is a walking advertisement, and very charismatic. I like her bodyweight and yoga stuff the best. And I just like her personality on screen.
      I LOVE Lisa's personality on screen too, but I SO agree with her form. I am not sure why she doesn't pay closer attention to it as she must see herself on screen all the time. Her form on push ups, burpees and squats typically drives me nuts. But she is also a walking advertisement. She is a GREAT host for BR in my opinion simply bc of her attitude.

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    7. I totally agree on the walking advetisement part!
      I actually dont really like Zuzkas personality. I mostly mute her or just do the workout from the breakdown. She seems really fake and arrogant to me, but I know so many people love her, and I do love a lot of the stuff she does and her body is very motivating
      Lisa I find great at connecting and very sweet. Often her form is not good, especially with rounding in the back. My littlebrother can also round his back i a way that seems dangerous. She doesnt seem that strong to me, but she is a ball of energy, so I enjoy watching her! Her workouts are not right up my alley, but each to their own
      They are both (and ofc Freddy) marketing geniusses, but as long as their stuff keep people happy and active, that makes me happy :) Thanks for your blog Gina, as always you do an amazing job!

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    8. I do miss CASH and Body Crush workouts from Zuzka though. I think she has done mostly Jump Rope and Kettlebells as her new workouts lately - not that they are bad, I just miss the other stuff she does ;) I am difficult to please

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    9. It's funny, Karoline, but I stopped liking Zuzka's personality a while ago. I love her workouts and am a paying Zgym member, but I have stopped respecting her after her condescending and sometimes rude FB comments to people's criticism became the norm. When she posted this article about how eating less sugar could help prevent cancer, it killed me to see how unprofessional she was in her responses to people who dared challenge her opinions (such as that big pharm keeps a no-sugar lifestyle a secret because they like making $$ on chemotherapy...ridiculous). I dislike how she blows off people who want to have discussions about fitness that diverge from her beliefs. Yes, she is charismatic and looks great on camera, but I find her increasingly annoying.
      And Lisa Marie...I can't even (sorry guys, I know you all like her). She seems fake through and through, and I feel that every single one of her "personal videos" are intended to make her look quirky and cute but also show off her hotness, as if she's not aware of it. That one is great for advertising but little else. Like I said, I no longer go to the BR website because I find Freddy creepy and LM annoying. It wasn't until Edith came into the picture (and I only knew about her from reading this blog :-)) that I started checking in.

      Bottom line: although it's fun to speculate about all these people, in truth my opinions of them have very little bearing on my real life. I got pretty upset when Freddy and Zuzka broke up (including the drama that ensued), which was totally weird because I don't even know these people, so now I just go there for fitness and keep all the drama in my own life :-)
      (And yes Gina, great job with this blog! Love it!)

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    10. It is so true about just using the workouts and keeping out of the drama! I like how this blog keeps us up to date, so i can check out the things that are interesting! Love these discussions and how we can have them free of judgement here!

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    11. Thanks guys!!! Glad you like the blog. :) xo

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