When not on tour, I’m either training or stuck behind my laptop catching up on emails. Now and then I attempt to organize, file and clear up my desktop from the endless clutter. During my recent clear-out, I came across an old kettlebell workout video from a year ago. filmed on Christmas day in the gorgeous Mijas hills of Marbella, at Mikes Gym.

If you love hardcore Crossfit workouts, brutal assault courses and consider yourself a badass. Definitely check out Mikes Gym in Marbella.

Kettlebell Fitness

If I had to choose one piece of training equipment to purchase, it would be kettlebells. This is because they are extremely versatile and can be used for all aspects of fitness, flexibility, strength, hypertrophy and all round conditioning. More females should workout with kettlebells, as conditioning workouts is the fastest way to obtaining a hot toned beach body.

Personally I like to program kettlebells into my current workouts, and create a sort of hybrid kettlebell program. kettlebell training helps me with my conditioning. In other words cardio, which in turn increases my endurance for wrestling! I also like to be an all rounder, adding variation to my training and not just being a one trick pony.

Top three reasons why you should workout with kettlebells

Diversity
 : From cleans to swings, to press, pull and lift movements. You will never be short of exercises, nor have any excuse to be bored with the endless choice of exercises for complexes and workouts. If you have an at home gym, kettlebells are money well invested if they are used correctly of course.

Challenging : 
How do you do cardio? I say lift weights faster. Training with kettlebells incorporates, strength training and cardiovascular endurance simultaneously. A sequence of kettlebell exercises similar to a circuit is usually the best way to achieve this desired effect. If you have ever heard the term HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), kettlebells are a perfect training tool for HIIT training. Shorts bursts of high intensity exercise followed by a low intensity period.

Effective : Kettlebells reduce the risk of injury, by stabilizing the joints and elongating the muscles. They also strengthen the core due to the constant need to engage these muscles during many movements. Explosive power, strength, improvements in coordination and flexibility can all be contributed to working with kettlebells.

Below I have designed a kettlebell program a hybrid, incorporating a mix of kettlebells and body weight. The benefits of such a workout is that it increases strength, stability, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness. The best kettlebell workout will only take a maximum of thirty minutes to complete depending on the number of rounds you complete.

Best Kettlebell Workout

1. Heavy Kettlebell Swings x 30 secs
2. Double Kettlebell Row x 30 secs
3. Double Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift x 30 secs
4. Deficit Kettlebell Reverse Lunge x 30 secs each side
5. Single Leg Burpee w/Press x 30 secs each side
6. Prone Bridge x 30 secs

Take a 2 min rest after completing all exercises. Try to move from one exercise to another without resting, complete 3 – 5 rounds in total. You might find it helpful to time each exercise using an interval timer or app. If you find the first round easy, increase the time to 45 secs on each exercise, however be warned, you might regret this decision!

I hope you enjoyed the best kettlebell workout, please remember to subscribe for further updates. View more strength workouts by Sara.

Today, we take an in depth look at the topic of Chemistry vs Attraction. It is usually presumed that both of these predeterminers, is needed to form a successful relationship. The confusion many people face, however, in trying to  understand the difference between the two, is often fascinating.

Chemistry vs Attraction

Attraction – Attraction is achieved when a woman is:

A) turned on by you at least to some degree and

B) feels somewhat safe with you.

Whether or not a women feels safe with you is based solely on your behaviour during dates or a session. It is important to remember that there is a fine line between coming across as horny vs. being sexual. Often you will see men comment on forums, about how you’re YMMV, an abbreviation for your mileage may vary. Meaning, what a session girl allows in a session is usually dependant on she feels on the day during your encounter. Attraction can play a part in this.

Women generally do understand how men can become extremely horny, as they possess higher sex drives. Beware however; as they will not be extremely supportive of this and always opt for the more sexual guys. This is because being horny is threatening and a turn-off. Being sexual is attractive and safe.

Whether or not she feels attracted to you, will depend on how well you rank against that number based on your appearance and behaviour she has set in her head.

Attraction isn’t very complicated. If she likes you and feels at least somewhat safe, you’re in.

Chemistry

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry … this sounds pretties much the same as attraction, however it is a whole different ball game! Chemistry is actually quite complicated and delicate. Remember this is why many men fail to make it past the first date!

Attraction, which we have already discussed, is the combination of being turned on and feeling safe.

Chemistry however is the combination of attraction and compliance to a predetermined checklist.

Attraction is an important key component of chemistry. After all, the lady in question does have to be attracted to you. However, once she’s attracted to you, she will need another layer of complexity. This specifically applies to older women as opposed to younger women, who you will find do not care just so much.

Chemistry is a checklist of qualities, the lady in question has preselected for her ideal boyfriend or husband.

So, how do I make chemistry? You don’t have to actually say something to violate a chemistry-seeker’s checklist. It’s very easy to destroy chemistry non verbally. Maybe you have a habit of breathing heavy, or making an annoying noise whilst chewing your food. Maybe the way you dress isn’t what she would visualize her ideal future boyfriend/husband wearing. So even if you carefully control everything you say during a first date, you can easily violate a woman’s checklist and make chemistry impossible.

Why did she not text back?

If you have ever been on a first date and text a women, who did not responded. If her girlfriend asked her about the date, she probably would have said something like this, “He is a nice guy but there just “wasn’t any chemistry.”

It’s not that she wasn’t attracted to you. She was! Unfortunately, you just simply violated a few items on her list, eliminating the feminine concept of “chemistry.”

The lesson to be learnt is therefore, not to get too hung up on chemistry!

Make it past the First Date!

Attraction is directly within your control. You have vast control over your physical appearance, your fashion, and how you behave on a first or second date. Of course you can’t have sex with any woman you want. However, by controlling these three variables, you can create attraction with a much higher percentage of women you meet

Chemistry, however, isn’t really within your realm of control. Since attraction is 50% of chemistry, you can improve your odds of chemistry a little by ensuring attraction more often. The problem is created because you don’t know the exact checklist of that woman sitting next to you at the bar or across from you on a first date.

The only way to ensure you create chemistry with a new woman is to extract a copy of her checklist from her brain, memorize it, and then make sure you do not say or do anything that violates anything her list.

I hope you enjoyed, if you enjoy my blog posts please feel free to subscribe to my blog and leave any comments you think are worth sharing.

If you ever frequent yourself with forums such as saradas. One of the most popular questions regarding lift and carry is, “are taller women better at lift and carry than smaller women?” Today we address this train of thought, particularly discussing how height may be relevant to each lift. Giving an insight to the advantages or disadvantages of the biomechanics of Lift and Carry.

Best Height for Lift and Carry?

There is no definitive answer to this question, the reason, there are many variations of lift and carry (fireman lift, cradle carry, piggy back). And, with each lift comes its own set of obstacles to overcome when performing the lift. For instance, there are also two people involved in the lift, unlike traditional strength feats where an obstacle of certain dimensions is lifted. Rarely do the dimensions of that obstacle change in strength feats, meaning that the set up for the lift rarely changes.

Lift and carry however is a whole different ball game. For example a female measuring 5 ft 5 inches tall, could have a client book a lift and carry, he measures over 6 feet tall, weighing 185lbs. As you can visualize the client is tall and slim in stature, while the female is much smaller. Due to the client being tall, this is actually not a disadvantage, quiet the opposite in fact. As, when performing a cradle carry and initiating the lift from the floor, with a taller client, this means that the female does not have to bend over as much, due to the extended leg length of the client. This places less load upon the back and the female who should be able to set a strong starting position.

A little of topic but relevant, now imagine the same scenario with a tall female as the lifter and client are both tall. The female due to her height will have to bend over further to reach the starting position of the lift. This can have a negative effect by placing additional load onto the spine.

In both cases each lifter has be trained in how to load the spine prior to commencing the lift. The first scenario would be a better set up with less risk of injury, however both girls are able to pull of the move successfully.

Challenging Circumstances

Now imagine two girls, who have lift and carry sessions booked, both living at either sides of the world. One session wrestler is 6foot 2 inches tall amazonian with long arms and legs that seem to go on forever. The other session wrestler is 5 foot 4 inches tall, with legs and arms in proportion to her body, but has small hands.

The client in question for both girls measures 5 foot 5 inches tall and weighs 200lbs. Both girls have lifted this weight before in previous sessions, however, the previous client weighing 200lbs was alot taller.

Can Height be an Advantage?

Here is when height can become more of a derivative factor in regards to lift and carry. The smaller girl will have the advantage when performing most of the lifts due to her height, meaning that she will not have to bend over or crouch down as low to initiate the lifts. However, remember the client is small and overweight, so the width and circumference of the client is a lot greater than that of the taller slimmer client.

This can cause a serious problem if the session wrestler cannot manage to wrap her arms around the client. This would very likely be the case in the cradle carry, so the taller girl with longer arms would have the advantage here of being able to scoop her client up into her arms. Meanwhile the smaller girl could have difficulty due to the length of her arms and at the same time having smaller hands.

Hopefully now you can see that lift and carry is quite a complex subject. Meaning there is not just one answer that fits all, to the question “are taller women better at lift and carry than smaller women?”

Biomechanics of Lift and Carry

If we come away briefly from the topic of lift and carry and look at the traditional deadlift. Just like lift and carry, there are height advantages and disadvantages to performing the deadlift. This time we are referring to an obstacle that’s dimensions stay the same. Lever length is so important in when performing big lifts.

Another example, you have a male who is 5 foot 8 inches tall with long legs and short arms. His torso is also a little longer in length giving him a long spine.

You would assume that not being tall would have the advantage, however this is not the case. As the lifter has short arms a long torso and long legs. The biomechanics of this lifter would not be advantageous to the traditional deadlift. Meaning he will have to tilt and hinge at the hips more to be able to reach the bar, placing additional load onto the spine.

Each individual have their own advantages and disadvantages

So, what is the ideal biomechanics for the deadlift? A lifter with short legs and long arms is at an advantage, when performing the deadlift. This is because it enables the lifter to reach the bar without having to tilt over as much as the lifter with short arms and long legs. This in turn will keep the torso more upright, placing less load onto spine. This type of set up is ideal for performing the deadlift, maximising the amount weight lifted.

Overall, there are many points to consider when talking about the biomechanics of lift and carry. Particularly when relating to the object – client changing with every session. For this reason it would be extremely difficult to say YES to taller or smaller women being better at lift and carry, as this would not be the case.

Each session wrestler faces their own challenges when it comes to lift and carry. Every session comes with its own advantages and disadvantages unique to each lift. With much experience over the years, I am sure many of the girls have it down to a fine art. Knowing what is, or is not realistic to do in a session. One thing for sure though guys, is be sure to always be honest about your weight 😉

I feel like I am treading on thin territory as I write about this subject matter, however, it is a something that has been increasingly on my mind. We all know that sex sells. This is certainty something which has been embedded into me when studying marketing and communications at university. What is concerning however is, since when did sex come into sport?

Of course being healthy and in good shape is what makes us attractive. I am not going to argue with that. Today, however, I feel the meaning of attractiveness in relation health and sport has been taken to a whole new level of superficial i.e that of soft porn – the kind of put on a stick and eat it sort of thing…

And, before you think, Sara’s going off on a rant, I just want to ask you to please bare with me. I ensure I am not and hope you will see where I am going with this!

SEX SELLS

Imagery

When a subject is presented in a certain manner, the meaning of a photograph can often change. Great photographers know this, and therefore direct their subjects as needed. This means things can be distorted or exaggerated to look at there best.

Little do you realize then, that those girls asses who look good enough to eat, are usually overarching there back so much that they could resemble a constipated duck from side angle.

Such angles help produce great pictures for you guys to ogle over, however unfortunately means it does mean there is much of real imagery left out there and perhaps why many complain nothing is left to the imagination anymore! Their skin is also usually flawless without a blemish or onze of cellulite in sight.

The main problem I have with the pornification of the fitness industry, however, is not the perception of it as flawless. Superficial and based on beauty, but the fact these faces can become fitness guru’s at a snap.

Fitness guru’s

These girls who feature cover to cover on fitness magazines, websites or social media are not professionals giving advice.

In fact, fitness magazines don’t help us get fit anymore. Gazing at the images of breasts implants, latino buttocks and bulging biceps. The impression of how fit bodies should look, and that every body needs to be shaped in the same light. This is not healthy and unfortunately what fitness magazines use to “inspire” women.

What we don’t realize is that when we are looking at the faces and bodies of these women’s physiques in magazines, most of them have dieted for months to look this way. Perhaps are days prior to a contest where they have put themselves through rigorous training, dieting and ahem usually supplements to lean out. Or, some are just pure genetics freaks, for instance Jen Selter.

Its all a Lie, trust nothing

The annoying thing is that the workouts in these magazines are usually false. Not a true reflection, of what these girls have put themselves through to look the way they do. To me, the imagery screams sex and forgets about all the rest, which happens behinds, the scene. It’s hard work! Doing body weight squats, does jack shit. If you want to make it as a fitness or physique model….

To me this is perhaps one of the most bothersome parts, because fusing fitness with sex and stamping the whole package with words like “strength” or “dedication” conditions viewers and participants to see those terms solely in that light.

“Dedication” becomes a matter of 4:30am workouts and Tupperware meals of chicken and broccoli, “inspiration” gets measured in pounds and inches lost, and “health” is seen as a consuming regime of workouts and diets and supplements and the occasional skimpy bikini. It makes people think that these over sexualized images demonstrate the pinnacle of fitness and health, and insinuates that they should be a goal towards which we strive. When in fact it is something these girls usually only do for a few weeks in the year and once many have done a show & won the title desired, usually never want to go back on stage again because of the hard work involved. Or, else thrive of the buzz from it and the hard work and focus required, when in the “zone”.

One size fits all

“Strong is the new skinny” is also the new in thing, but women should not be forced to pick between the two. We all come in different shapes and sizes and if you were to ask us women, we usually don’t really have a choice between the two. It is hard to accept, but people should learn to embrace this.

I for one have always struggled with my weight and hoover around eleven stone; now I accept and work with what I have. That is a large bone structure and wide shoulders, but nothing can change this. It’s just me, my make up and something my mums side of the family have passed down to me.

So what I am trying to say is that, it should not matter what shape you are. You can only develop from what you have naturally. I applaud the thin whippets who are futile and agile on the mats, most likely have high metabolisms and will never be fat. And, I also respect those big beautiful women who give it all just as much as the bodybuilders in life. Leading me onto why many women enter sport.

It’s a choice

Many women who enter fitness, sport or bodybuilding usually do so due to their competitive nature. We usually have athletic backgrounds and enjoy the challenge. What should be noted is that those that are generally sporty or have an interest do not usually do this for fame or recognition, but for us.

Bodybuilding is often termed as a dying sport. So much respect should be given to the hard work the women put in to achieve such physiques, to me this should not be forgot about when sexualized.

The result can be very athletically pleasing to the eye, however bodybuilding is so much more than just this. They are athletes who love their sport. The rewards are also limited, yet these women participate knowing it is a way they can accomplish their goals. Behind closed doors aside from the little rewards, they can also often face rejection from society, isolation to small social scenes who understand them, and routine to hard work and dedication required. These physiques do not come easily!

Serious athletes, who these women are, do not care what others think. If they did they would not continue in a sport, which many feel women do not belong in. If people find them sexy that’s of little relevance.  They are pushing themselves physically and mentally to the limit to be the best at their sport, and not to satisfy observers. Some women even disregard judging criteria all together and present their physiques the way they think appropriate.

Women know what they are doing

On the other hand, it cannot be argued that us women do not know what we are doing. The fitness industry involves competitions, training, sponsorships, and of course our fan base. If there is such “pornification” within the fitness industry, we must realise it cannot be solely blamed on men. As, us women do use it to our advantage, however, we must realise our need to be aware of our own actions and take responsibility for such.

Session wrestling is such an example and while it may not exactly be pornography or prostitution, controversy can be made about the subject. For instance, muscle worship sessions cater to men who have a fetish for strong or muscular women and muscular women can make money from this.

This is because it enables them to make more of a living from this than from their competitions and you will find most female bodybuilders, fitness, physique and athletic girls do it even under the radar. It helps cover competition costs, supplements, and other expenses.

Money talks and sex sells

Opinion is divided on the matter, but us women have thought of a way to circumvent certain barriers in a sport that is hostile to us. Female bodybuilders or sport athletes have few financial avenues available to them and this practice is a method which helps sustain a number of high quality athletes. As, it should be noted that women are still often paid lower than their male counterparts, in completions and sport.

Sessions does however allow fans to meet us up close and personal, which can be a big thing to many fans of pro bodybuilders or certain girls in the wrestling scene. Who can almost be like mini Celebes in their fans eyes, who get to live out their fantasies in reality. What is the chances you would get to book a session with Jeremy Clarkson to go car shopping or Jamie Oliver to learn how to cook? Zero. I therefore think that sessions should be applauded as it keeps people grounded, with their feet on the ground and allows many bodybuilders etc. to be in touch with their fans.

Women will always been seen as sex objects

Sexualisation in sport or fitness is inevitable, as admirers see in their eyes some of the best-developed bodies on the planet. The real problem is not that fans see these women are attractive, but when this is the only aspect considered important. These women are great athletes and they should be valued for their accomplishments.

Session wrestling and muscle worship I believe, however, allows for the real women to shine through. Many who have experienced a session, will vouch with me and say. Once they have experienced a session with a special lady have found them really intelligent and more than just bimbos. I have heard such remarks of intelligence for the likes or FBB Lisa Cross, Alina popa and Anna M Stong. Some of which are even married, have children, are studying degrees or even have other jobs. These fans do not just see them as objects.

Publishers

Relevant to the fitness industry, however, is the publishing companies that exploit athletes to readers. Women have little say in the creative production, process, and distribution of these photographs/footage they are in.

Tosca Reno, publisher of various fitness magazines, even hit out at the portrayal of fitness in her article “The pornification of fitness needs to stop” for Huffington Post. It was somewhat hypocritical though as she forgot to add that see she owns Oxygen Magazine, Clean Eating Magazine, and The Eat Clean Diet where the women on the front covers could be argued to be objectified. She is in a position where she “pornify’s” women on these magazine covers. However, it’s proves that sex sells and it may be a case of the market may force her hand even though she hates it.

When I take a look at these images from the porn industry and compare them to those from the fitness industry- I am sad to say I see no difference except for muscle. For an athlete that has dedicated their life to the art of exercise, this phenomenon has become an insult. Sex is one of the most beautiful, powerful, and natural aspects of our humanity. But like any power, it can be used in cheap and sleazy ways that don’t truly honor its awesomeness.

These days, it seems it is not enough to be strong, intelligent, healthy, educated or a great coach. You must be smokin’ hot. Like so hot you can’t even focus on the exercise I’m currently doing

What do you think?

If on the one hand these women pose sexually AND still have sound information and knowledge to share, then I’m okay with it. Let’s be honest, we all have sex, and we’re all attracted to other human beings.

BUT, on the other hand, when a trainer’s workout and routines, becomes MORE about showing skin and sexual poses, and less about the actual routine or accomplishments – I have a problem. To be honest there are quite a few women out there who if they weren’t naked, would have no one listening to them.

Personally I have a simple test: I close my eyes and listen to a supposed fitness professional talk and describe a workout or what they are trying to get across. Obviously I can’t see them, but if what they say resonates, makes sense, and their verbal cues paint a picture in my head. Then I think it’s safe to say that that person is great at what they do.

But if you’re totally lost and can’t make sense of what they’re saying, I say they stink. Now open your eyes and see what you’re looking at. Are they scantily clad, moaning seductively throughout their reps, OR dressed in fitness gear, talking through the workout, showing personality and cuing viewers? There’s a big difference. I guess, you guys could say the same for sessions and sessionettes personalities.

People are more than just their bodies

As a pro­fes­sional in the fit­ness and enter­tain­ment indus­tries with a degree in adver­tis­ing, not only do I wit­ness both the cause and the effect of the media mes­sages, I see who makes the con­tent deci­sions and know how they go about mak­ing them and mar­ket­ing them to the pub­lic. Most of the time the deci­sions are based in sales and con­sumerism, i.e. ‘what head­line can we use that will sell the most mag­a­zines?’ or ‘how can we con­vince the pub­lic that our prod­uct is the best?’ Call it what you want in the name of mar­ket­ing, but in all hon­esty, its just decep­tion.

I believe we’ve gotten lazy in our search for truth. Fit­ness is just one exam­ple of this. We don’t know how to take care of our bod­ies, so we buy a mag­a­zine or a weight loss pill, or trust the health web­site that showed up on the first page of Google. We neglect to ask for sources.

Speaking the truth

My inten­tion in writ­ing this is not to bash other ath­letes, or mag­a­zines, or the media…but it is to cre­ate an aware­ness of the big­ger pic­ture we’re paint­ing a soci­ety – sex sells; a warn­ing of what our seem­ingly insignif­i­cant daily choices and social media voices are slowly man­i­fest­ing. We are a cul­ture so obsessed with our­selves that we are blind to how it truly affects oth­ers around us.

My inten­tion here is sim­ply to share what I observe from the per­spec­tive of some­one who is on both sides of the spec­trum, a cre­ator and con­sumer. As a cre­ator I see how fitness begins with good inten­tions, but quickly ego takes the place of good inten­tions and the images that were meant to encour­age and inspire now cre­ate arro­gance, envy, body hate by com­par­i­son, and a mock­ery of mod­esty as images grad­u­ally shift from inno­cent ‘progress self­ies’ to what is arguably soft-porn.

The lines are blurred

So where do I stand now? How do I main­tain integrity and pas­sion for the indus­try I love when I see it for the dark­ness it has become, void of value and rid­dled with the insa­tiable par­a­sites of com­par­i­son, envy, and nar­cis­sism?

How can I bear to sup­port the fit­ness indus­try when the lines of healthy, are so blurred. Why can’t we just train hard, not to the point of total destruc­tion. Enjoy are healthy bod­ies that help us lead full lives, instead of using hot bod­ies to col­lect com­pli­ments, feed ego, and fan the flames of lust and human objectification?

I do what I do for me, I love meeting fans, getting stronger. Working on my skills and seeing the bigger picture to life. As long as my actions only affect me and not others I will continue to be the real me for who I am. Always step back and ask yourself what is your identity, do not get lost and wrapped up with all the rest for what they want. Fly your flag and with them or work, alone or for who you want to but have respect for yourself and each other. Your flag is your IDENTITY.

Today I have one of those posts, where it was hard to hit the publish button. I was/am hesitant to share my thoughts, however took a deep breath, held it and hit the Publish button after all!