By now, you've probably seen quite a few i.d. gym members using kettlebells as part of their workouts. Perhaps you've even seen contestants on "The Biggest Loser" use kettlebells as part of their exercise regimen. Now you can see what kettlebells can do for you with two of our newest group-fitness classes: Kettlebell Challenge and Kettlebell Bootcamp.

A kettlebell is a cast iron weight that looks a little like a cannonball with a handle. Unlike traditional dumbbells, a kettlebell's center of mass is extended beyond the hand, allowing for a wide variety of swinging movements that are designed to help you build strength and endurance. Cold War era Soviet soldiers began using these weights to train for hand-to-hand combat, and while those days have since past, the benefits of kettlebells remain. 

The Kettlebell Challenge and Kettlebell Bootcamp classes are brought to you by Jennifer McGowan and Rob Miller, two of i.d. gym's newest instructors and personal trainers.

"You don't need the physique of a battle-hardened soldier to train with kettlebells," says Jennifer. "Since our these classes are new to i.d. gym, we'll start with the basics -- emphasizing the proper form and movement -- so that you can reap the benefits of kettlebell training."  

Rob notes that studies have shown that kettlebell training has helped overweight people get lean and helped skinny people build up. "Kettlebells are the primary tool, but the motivation must come from within," says Rob, a former U.S. Navy search and rescue swimmer. "When you combine a kettlebell workout with a healthy diet, clean living and regular exercise, you can bring your fitness to a whole new level."

Jennifer, who has been a personal trainer for 15 years and has been working out with kettlebells for 4 years, adds that she has seen phenomenal results for herself as well as her students and clients. I've found that kettlebells work like no other fitness tool to build a strong, lean and athletic body."

When to find kettlebell classes:

Kettlebell Challenge: Learn the fundamentals of the swing, goblet squat and Turkish Get-up and set your fat on fire like no other form of exercise. Kettlebells allow you to combine cardio and strength training in one efficient workout to maximize results! Mondays at 7 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

Kettlebell Bootcamp: A "hard style" of kettlebell training born in the Special Operations of the former Soviet Union. As in martial arts, this style of training chooses power over efficiency and chooses the techniques proven to be most effective for maximal force applications. The techniques are drilled with precision which proves invaluable when you need precision in competition, sport or daily life. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays -- all at 6:30 a.m.

Visit id-gym.com for more details.

i.d. gym is the new home of Chicago's Budokon Academy, which offers the first and only art form to integrate yoga, marital arts and living arts into one complete fitness system.

A "mashup" is a term typically used in the music industry to describe the blending of two songs that you wouldn't imagine going together but end up sounding terrific once they're mixed into one. We continue our mashup series by providing you with tips on some winning combinations to intensify your workout!

Many of you enjoy Fly Yoga every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday as a fun way to combine traditional yoga techniques, acrobatics, gymnastics and dance. How do you workout when you're not hanging in one Fly Yoga's suspended silk hammocks? Here are a few ideas.

Using our silk hammocks you can move deeper into yoga postures, improve your balance and strength and practice advanced inversions and circus-style tricks.

Mashup #1 - Fly Yoga and Spinning: Fly Yoga provides you with a great way to improve your posture, balance and strength. While classes typically include cardio-based movements, you should consider a group fitness class like spinning, where cardio is the focus. While jumping, jogging, sprinting and climbing on a stationary bike, spinning helps you build cardio endurance, stamina and power.

Mashup #2 - Fly Yoga and Yoga: While it may seem redundant, combining Fly Yoga with traditional classes like Power Yoga, Vinyasa Flow or Yoga Basics is a terrific way to take your yoga practice to an all-new level. By using Fly Yoga's suspended hammocks, you'll find that you are able to go deeper into certain yoga postures that stretch your shoulders, hips and hamstrings. And if you take a traditional class a day or so after Fly Yoga, you may quickly discover improvements in your form, function and range of motion.   

Mashup #3 - Fly Yoga and Body Sculpt: At the end of each Fly Yoga class, when you're floating in the cocoon of your silk hammock, there is no other feeling that's so comforting and liberating. But sometimes you just want to cut loose with a rush of adrenalin, and you can do that with one of our high-energy Body Sculpt classes. Using hand weights, resistance tubing and BOSU trainers to target every part of your body, you'll develop strength and get leaner.


For more information and class times, visit the group fitness schedule on id-gym.com.

At i.d. gym, we believe exercise must go hand-in-hand with nutrition. While we don't endorse one diet and nutrition plan over another, when a New York Times story about the "caveman lifestyle" crossed our desks a few weeks ago, we were so intrigued that we wanted to share it with you.

According to the story, the caveman lifestyle is a new trend sweeping the country -- including someCrossFit circles -- that involves eating large quantities of meat and then fasting between meals to approximate the lean times our distant ancestors faced between hunts. Vegetables and fruit are fine, but foods like bread should be avoided because they were unavailable before the invention of agriculture. Proponents of this "paleolithic" diet believe the human body evolved for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and their goal is to wean themselves off what they see as many millenniums of bad habits.

Check out the New York Times story and then visit i.d. gym's Facebook page to share your thoughts about the caveman lifestyle. Are you trying out this regimen? What results are you seeing? If you don't think this diet is your style, how do balance exercise and nutrition?

Share your story on our Facebook page.