jon-erik kawamoto personal trainer
Lately, I’ve been playing around with and incorporating a few different exercises into my workouts. I’m all about increasing the challenge and effectiveness of each exercise I do and here are 3 exercise variations I’ve been enjoying (getting killed by) lately. But please remember to not push yourself too hard, you don’t want to hurt yourself. If you do then you should consider physiotherpary for the pain, you can check out someone similar to Ealing physiotherapy that could help you if you do hurt yourself. But let’s hope that that isn’t the care. So moving on, here are three exercises that I think you should try:

Kneeling Banded Hip Thrust with Single Arm Kettlebell Press

The hip thrust is a great exercise to target your glutes. I was searching some fitness blogs last week and came across Mike Reinold’s double kneeling banded hip thrust video on Bret Contreras’s site. I gave it a try and really liked it. It targets the glutes like no other and serves as a great glute activation exercise.

I was doing some overhead pressing the other day and wanted to make the press more strict. When trainees fatigue, they tend to lean back excessively, dip and press with some leg drive and not activate their glutes.

So, I thought, why not combine these two exercises together. You get amazing glute activation and a challenge to the torso to remain erect while pressing a kettlebell overhead. Plus, you can’t cheat by driving with the legs.

Constant Tension Reverse Crunch

The reverse crunch is a great exercise to target the external obliques and “lower abs.” It’s quite difficult for most but the idea is to curl your body into a little ball while anchoring your hands on a moderately heavy dumbbell or kettlebell.

I wanted to make this exercise a little harder, so I started doing them off a slightly elevated surface. The constant tension and localized muscle fatigue was crazy. Keep the eccentric part (down phase) slow and get ready for the burn. Do not swing your legs or kick to perform the rep – use your abs!

Ultimate Sandbag Lateral Bag Drag

Almost two months ago I took the DVRT (Dynamic Variable Resistance Training) Level 1 and 2 certification course with Ultimate Sandbag creator, Josh Henkin. It was an awesome course and taught more than just how to lift a bag of sand. Check out my top 3 eye-openers from taking the course HERE.

Anyway, one exercise that stood out to me was the lateral bag drag. I saw this exercise before but never really tried it. To be honest, it looked too easy and didn’t give it the attention it deserved. Boy was I in for a surprise.

If done correctly, this exercise is one of the most challenging core exercises I’ve ever done…ever! The amount of scapular, core and hip stability required to do this exercise correctly is crazy. Ideally, you would slide the Ultimate Sandbag as slow as possible from one side of your body to the other. Obviously friction and the weight of the bag must be taken into account but the goal here is to minimize any body (trunk and hip) movement during the drag. Keep your elbow locked and scapulae protracted in the support arm to fully engage your scapular stabilizers.

Try this exercise for 30-45 second sets. You’ll be sweating bullets.

Well, that’s a wrap.

If you give these a go, let me know how it goes.

Also, new tri-blend American Apparel Dragon Tees (in black) are on order. To save your size, pre-order your tee on my Store Page.

Have a good weekend,

-JK

photo credit: ritavida via photopin cc

Lloyd Hussey

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I started at JKC in January of 2014 and I’m 67 years old. When I had my Initial Assessment, I knew – almost immediately – that Jon knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. I was overweight, out of shape, and in serious need of someone, like Jon, who could get me back on a fitness/conditioning routine that suited me, my age, my less than acceptable physical condition, my sometimes intermittent RA, and my need for a structured, consistent and yet flexible training and conditioning program that would work for me.

Fundamentally, if I made a choice at all with respect to JKC – it was to continue to come back each week. I have not been in a lot of gyms. To be honest, they used to intimidate me. What makes JKC different is their approach to each and every one of their clients. Jon and Thomas – and now Craig – tailor each training regime to the particular needs of each client. That ensures that the training regime will suit each client upon the start of training and changes as the client improves. It adjusts for any physical setbacks such as injuries and it adjusts for success. It is just that simple.

It is also the consistent encouragement that comes from Jon, Thomas and Craig. That voice that comes to you while you are in the middle of a particularly difficult set – rear-foot elevated split squats comes to mind immediately – that says “good job” or “keep it up” or “just a couple more reps.” To know, in that moment, that you are not alone and the trainer is paying attention to what you are doing. That is priceless for me.

Teri Stuckless

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

After my children were born, I was completely out of shape. I had been active before my first pregnancy in 2008. I saw a post on social media about a charity event that was hosted at the gym. It prompted me to check out the JKC website. I was immediately impressed by the professional content and decided to give it a try. The professionally crafted and uniquely tailored work outs, as well as the sense of accountability and commitment that they foster. I have not missed a workout since joining – contrary to other experiences I have had when purchasing gym memberships. The flexibility of booking and rescheduling workouts, made easy by an online app, also contributed to my success in meeting my fitness goals.

I enjoy every session, working out with Jon, Thomas and Craig, as well as the “JKC Community”. Anytime someone achieves a personal best, I enjoy the celebration and support everyone gives each other. For me, I fondly remember achieving personal bests on bench press, chin ups and the sled push, in particular.

Patrick Ryan

I’m 43 and started at JKC just over a year ago. I started at JKC because of multiple recommendations from existing clients. There are 2 main elements that distinguish JKC for me. Firstly the sense of community. I’ve been to multiple gyms in multiple cities/countries, you just can not manufacture the sense of community and support you get from other gym goers and the team. It’s very motivating and happy to say I’ve made some friends at JKC.

The other major distinguishing factor for JKC is the expertise and passion of the team. Jon, Thomas and Craig craft highly personalized programs based on my fitness goals and know how to push me best without being pushy. They pay close attention to ensuring my form is solid before encouraging me to take on more weight for the exercise. Plain and simple they love what they do and it shows.

Jodi Dodge

Dane Woodland

I came to JKC through recommendations from my peers from lululemon. As a current ambassador, I’ve been introduced to legacy ambassadors, like Jon, and I knew a bunch of other people from the store were working out here so I wanted to give it a go. I often dread lower body workouts so I started coming here to do legs. I’ve had such great progress that I now come twice a week— and, I no longer hate leg day!

I’ve never experienced this sort of hybrid between group workouts and personalized service. Many group strength training services offer a sort of one-size-fits-all workout for the general population, which has never been of interest to me, because I want my workout tailored to my needs! I LOVE that you can be in a group setting while doing your own personal program; I love the camaraderie and community at JKC, and, I’ve seen incredible results thus far! Jon is always so attuned to what I need.

See All Reviews Write a Review

3 Exercises You Probably Haven’t Tried Yet

By Jon-Erik Kawamoto »