The Art of Strength: Providence

I have waited for over nine months to write this review because I wanted to ensure that I was able to provide feedback that was not based on the excitement of starting a new workout routine. I was first introduced to Anthony Diluglio's Firepower DVD by a coworker. I watched the DVD and wrote down the workout routine and started doing it once a week at my local gym. I worked for six months eventually building up to working the Firepower routine two to three times per week. I then branched out and purchased his Providence DVD. This shocked my system because it moved from working each exercise for one minute each, as in Firepower, to two minutes per exercise. However, I was able to get through it nonstop the first go around even though it was challenging; I attribute getting through Providence on day one to having taken six months to build a solid base with Firepower. After working Providence for three months I again branched out and purchased Newport. Newport is awesome! Talk about a shock to the system. Each workout set is four to five minutes including a one minute set of abs; thankfully I had that strong base built through Firepower. Getting through Newport is still a struggle and requires a little more mental toughness than Firepower and Providence. I do have to use a lighter KB for some of the Newport exercise but I know eventually I'll build to where I'm using the same weight KB for all of Newport.The above method is what worked for me and I provide it to hopefully encourage others interested in pursuing KB workouts a good starting point. I cannot emphasize enough though the importance of starting out slowly, working at your own pace, and building a solid base focusing primarily on developing your core strength. Of note is that I also lost 35 pounds during that first six months (245 to 210; I'm 6 ft. 4 in. for height/weight reference purposes); I'm still dropping weight too. This is in part due to three major lifestyle changes: (1) I quit drinking alcohol; (2) I reduced my sugar intake, to include natural sugars, to less than 20 grams per day (if you think this is hard the book `The Belly Fat Cure: Discover the New Carb Swap System and Lose 4 to 9 lbs. Every Week' by Jorge Cruise can help); (3) I started working out five days per week (Mon - cardio, Tue - strength training, Wed - cardio, Thur - cross training, Fri - cardio).As far as Anthony Diluglio is concerned, I could not ask for a better virtual personal trainer. He does go through some tutorials for some of his exercises which I do recommend watching as it will help with form and prevent injury; all-in-all though he expects that you will come with some sort of knowledge of KB strength training on how to do exercises properly. Even if you are just starting out, as long as you take it slow and at your own pace, you can easily follow along with him during each routine and the changing camera angles really help capture the nuances of each exercise. Again, start out slow and build that solid base focusing on keeping your core tight during each exercise!Currently, my workout rhythm for strength training in general is on a monthly cycle with one hard strength training workout each week. Week one is the Providence followed up with a run through Firepower. Week two is the Newport routine again followed up with a run through Firepower. Week three is the Firepower routine walking up the five set pyramid and then working down through the same pyramid taking my rest at the pyramid's top. Week four is a rest from KBs and I do the CrossFit Filthy Fifty (or Dirty Thirty if I'm not feeling up to par; Dirty Thirty is the same thing as Filthy Fifty but just 30 sets of each exercise). Recall that I spent over six months building a solid base, focusing on core strength, before being able to get to this point of regular, injury free strength training. Take it slow folks and build that core!I hope that Anthony Diluglio keeps making workout DVDs. I will buy them every time over any other workout DVD out there. They might be a little pricey but it is worth every penny if you are willing to invest your time in improving your physical fitness and your body in general.

I started working out with kettle bells about two years ago. After experimenting with several different types of aerobic and weight based workouts, I found that kettle bell training was the most whole body workout that combined aerobic, weight training, core strengthening and balance exercises into a single, short interval based workout. After finally finding kettle bells, the next challenge was to find a great workout DVD. I purchased and tried out several kettle bell DVDs. Among my favorites are DVDs by Lauren Brooks and Paul Katami, however, the one I keep coming back to for my standard kettle bell workout is the Art of Strength - Providence. I feel it gives me the best total body kettle bell workout and I continue to use this DVD every week. I also have the Art of Strength - Newport and Firepower. I find some of the exercises in Newport to be too difficult (I am in my 50s and have osteoarthritis), but I can do the exercises in Firepower and enjoy that DVD as an alternative to Providence on occasion.As proof that I use this DVD often, here are a few things to look for in the DVD:- In Round 2 - Cleans, there is a Alfred Hitchcock look alike walking along the sidewalk.- In Round 7 - Clean and Press, Anthony only does 4 clean and presses on the right side at the beginning instead of 5.- In the Bonus Round (which I am never happy to see...), Anthony tells you that you're half way through when you are only one third way through.I highly recommend this DVD as a great all around kettle bell workout.

This is a great workout. I normally wait until I have done a workout a few more weeks before reviewing (I've only done this dvd twice), but I have done plenty of KB workouts and can already tell this is a great workout. For reference, I've done the Skogg 11-week program twice now so I know what a great full-body workout using a kettlebell can be. This workout introduces some classic kettlebell moves with great explanations of how to perform them correctly and safely. You perform 14 different exercise intervals of 2 minutes each, followed by an all-you-can-do 3 minute snatch test at the end. You only need one kettlebell for all of the exercises included. He gives you a 1-minute break between each 2-minute interval , which is a little too long (part of the reason for the 4 star rating). It's a good mix of moves that work your full body, plus some that are focused on just lower body or just upper body.I wish the warm-up was a little more substantial and there is no cool-down at the end which is too bad, but you can add your own. I'd definitely recommend this DVD to anyone who has kettlebell experience. If you've been doing Skogg (whose workout I still love), this is a great 5th DVD to add to your rotation. I don't know that I'd recommend to beginners, but I plan to use it quite a bit. Good purchase.