RKC School of Strength

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Coaching

HardStyle Health and Wellness

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Dan Mahoney RKC-II Gym

Eight months ago, I began a new chapter of my coaching career. I became the Health and Wellness Manager at a Boston-based company’s trendy headquarters—complete with an in-office gym. Before now, I had never considered myself qualified for this type of role. It was a totally unique way to help people. I had constantly tried to help family members who sat long hours at their desks with their back pain, but my instructions to move around every sixty or ninety minutes often fell on deaf ears. Being an in-house Health and Wellness Manager meant the chance to help whole teams of people during their workday. Feeling confident that I could make a difference, I took the interview. It was one of the smartest decisions I have made as a trainer.

As a kettlebell instructor, “personal trainer” and “coach”, I never would have imagined that I could help a company work better, and improve how its employees work. [Disclaimer: I had never before worked a day in an office, and felt like a fish out of water.] I knew very little about business outside of what I had been exposed to at my first gym, and from running my own gym. But, I did know that I could leverage my knowledge and beliefs forged from my RKC, and most recently my RKC-II, to make an impact on this company’s fitness and overall health. And so, I began my mission to introduce kettlebells and swings to a group of tech and business wizards who were mostly unfamiliar with fitness.

Getting Started

One of the biggest perks of working in-house is the tremendous amount of artistic license and control over the program you develop, how you reach your clients, and how much of an impact you can make. I was surrounded by hard working employees ranging from 22-60 years old, all of whom were hunched, exhausted, and headed down the road of prescriptions and pain.

The company had no idea what they wanted me to do—which was liberating, but also frightening. The only restriction was the size of their pre-existing gym. It was set up with all of the latest and greatest fitness equipment: Bosu balls, dumbbells from five to fifty pounds, a smith machine, a few boxing bags, and a treadmill. I had to be creative, and decided to teach my new (and quite resistant) clients the skills they needed to live a healthier life. My tool of choice was the kettlebell. I knew that I could implement this in a large class setting or one on one and get the same great results. The plan was to run a beginner’s class for those who were looking to get back into the swing of things—no pun intended—and for those that were new to fitness. Initially, we ran another class too, but quickly needed to add a third for another level of skill and strength. This class allowed for the more advanced employees to continue refining their skills, while the others were improving their basics.

Coaching in a Different Realm

The true role of a coach is to figure out how to help the people you are coaching perform at their best. And it was also important to recognize that health and fitness were not big priorities for most of the company. Trying to connect with my new clients was difficult, it was a completely different dynamic than working with a motivated client who has personally hired you to get them into shape. At times, it was completely demoralizing!

Dan Mahoney Corporate Gym
Dan Mahoney, RKC-II trains his corporate clients in this Downtown Boston in-office gym.

Implementing a Plan and Call to Action

A call to action and buy-in process was my first priority. I met with as many people as possible for their individual movement screens, to discuss their personal goals, and to find out how they thought I could help their department and the company as a whole. When I compiled my notes, I clearly saw that my instinct was correct—kettlebells would undoubtedly benefit this group. They all needed and wanted general strength and conditioning, and to keep off the pounds. The older employees who may have had a recent injury or were dealing with chronic pain wanted to get rid of that pain. So, for the next week I moved twenty two of my personal kettlebells (which ranged from 12kg up to 48kg) to the office gym. I got more than a few confused looks while walking through the streets of downtown Boston!

As an RKC, I knew that not everyone would be ready for swings right away, and I did not expect them to just jump in and deadlift from the floor. At first, the most important thing was that they bought into the idea that proper training and improving the way they moved was more beneficial than getting put through the wringer for an hour. All of them expected that a session would leave them in a pool of sweat, and that they would wake up the next day worse than the day before. Because they thought that fitness was all about gasping for air on the floor at the end of the training session, they expected to be sweaty, sore, and buried!

The RKC system has and continues to provide the employees a new understanding of the benefits of actual training. To date, I have been able to incorporate the big six of the RKC (swing, squat, clean, press, get-up and snatch) with some of the more advanced and dedicated employees, while the new and intermediate employees are still reaping the benefits of deadlifts, swings, squats, get-ups and light single arm pressing. They have accomplished great things—pressing the 24kg to completing pistols. Our CEO—who didn’t quite understand why I was having him swing or do get-ups at first—has been on a heavy dose of get-ups, swings, arm bars and other mobility work I learned during my RKC-II.

The goal of the health and wellness program is not to simply make people as strong as possible, even though some of them are really excelling. Our goal is to create a comfortable, healthy atmosphere where people strive to improve themselves on both a personal and professional level. Equally as important, I aim to educate each employee to safely and successfully perform movements that improve their fitness and quality of life.

I urge all RKC Instructors to look for opportunities to challenge their coaching abilities outside health clubs, gyms, and studios—and to spread the RKC message to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it. I have learned more about myself as a coach in the past nine months than I ever did while working at a conventional fitness facility. I am continuing to expand my comfort zone to include situations like speaking in front of the company, working with new issues presented by different employees, and learning how to build relationships that will inevitably grow my own business.

****

Dan Mahoney, RKC-II instructor, can be contacted by email: danm17@gmail.com

New Fury. New RKC.

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NewRKCCatalystInstructors

I am not tactical. Though I’ve done some work with the Marines, I’ve never been in the Armed Forces. I’m not an operator. The closest I get to tactical are my 5.11 backpacks.

Do tactical pull-ups make me tactical? Nope.

Recently, I taught an RKC Workshop with Master RKC, Josh Henkin at Catalyst SPORT in NYC. The group bonded quickly and in a fantastic fashion. Early on, it was obvious that something special was happening at this certification but I couldn’t quite place it at first.

My first RKC was five years ago. That experience had an incredibly positive impact on my life, and it’s what got me here. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I loved it. But with all of that said, I wouldn’t do an old RKC again. Current day Coach Fury would have walked out the moment someone told me to take my kettlebell to the bathroom. Yes, that happened.

As a middle-aged father of two, what does carrying a kettlebell to the bathroom teach me? Punishment swings and carries? The polite version of what present-day Coach Fury would say about that is “No thanks!”

I can only imagine how actual present/former military personnel felt about these drill sergeant tactics. The RKC is a system of strength and education, so why were we trying to be some faux-military group? While I don’t have an answer to that, I fully admit to buying into it at the time. Fortunately, I’ve grown as a person—and so has the RKC.

Punishment swings, carries, and taking the kettlebells to the bathroom haven’t happened in years, and that’s a testament to the growth and evolution of the RKC. Due to the continued efforts of the entire RKC leadership team, we are purposefully blazing a new path. The NYC RKC is exactly the type of event I would want to attend. The new RKC community is exactly the type of group where I want to be a member.

Education comes first, not intimidation or fear. From a psychological standpoint, the former style of intimidation does bring a certain amount of respect to the material and the course. However, I think there are better ways to achieve the same effect.

RKC Workshop at Catalyst SPORT

The participants at the RKC workshop we held at Catalyst SPORT were an incredibly diverse and open-minded group. This group included local coaches, enthusiasts (like I was at my first RKC), a pack of DVRT instructors, and people who had previously certified with a different group who wanted to see what we were teaching. Josh Henkin and I quickly set the tone for the weekend. People came in nervous and scared. After all, we still have the snatch test, and we still work hard—we’re just not jerks about it! We do our best to get people to relax so they can focus on the material, instead of just thinking about the five minutes of snatches.

Our hosts and assistant instructors, Jason Kapnick, Joe Boffi and Kathy Dooley were stellar as well. All of us freely answered any questions and delivered tips, cues and suggestions without ego or intimidation. We used to wonder why people used to be afraid to ask questions… well the old days of 100-swing punishments may have had something to do with it! But, this RKC weekend was all about the candidates, not about us. In return, the attendees gave so much more back to us. There was so much heart in the room—it was honestly emotional!

RKC Workshop at Catalyst SPORT

I never assume myself to be the best coach in the room. And if I am the guy who knows more about kettlebells in the room, that doesn’t make me better than anyone else. All the attendees registered, paid and spent their time to be there. So, I’m going to deliver a positive experience and do my best to show them why I love the RKC.

I know that I am not alone in this, the RKC is more than a system, more than an organization, and more than a team. We are a family.

We are the new RKC.

New RKC instructors at Catalyst SPORT

I’m very proud to be a part of this change. John Du Cane, the entire leadership team, and all the new RKCs are part of our progression. I want to thank everyone for their role in our growth. It’s exhilarating to see it happen. The RKC has evolved and so have I.

Sign up for a course near you.

I hope to see you there.

-Fury

***

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s a Senior RKC, a DVRT Master Chief, and an Original Strength Instructor. He is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. Check out coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram @iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.

Regress to Progress—Why Patterning is the Key to Fixing Your Swing

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Matt Beecroft Swing Setup
Matt Beecroft demonstrates the incorrect (left) and correct (right) position for starting a kettlebell swing

Movement quality underpins any good strength training system. The RKC has never been just about the kettlebell, it’s always been about learning to move better. And the key to moving better is often knowing the right time to progress an exercise—and when to regress. It can be challenging to know when to increase the movement challenge, complexity or difficulty of an exercise if you don’t have an RKC instructor to coach you. Fortunately, the RKC system also includes an awesome system for teaching the movements progressively and safely.

Sure, you could go out and learn 17 different techniques in other one or two day workshops… But not only will your personal proficiency in those lifts be suspect (unless you are an athletic freak, like our own Master RKC, Max Shank) but more importantly your ability to communicate and teach the information to others will also be questionable. This is especially true when attempting to coach someone who is new to training efficiently, safely, and effectively.

Also, the skill set of an athlete and a coach are very different. Many of your clients aren’t really interested in your amazing athleticism, they are much more interested in how amazing you can make them. We all know great athletes who are terrible coaches and vice versa.

The intelligent progression of exercises which teach how to get from “point A” to “point B” is what sets the RKC apart. If someone is having trouble mastering the swing, you probably know by now that trying to correct it is difficult. Because swings are ballistic, they’re fast, so trying to correct a client (or yourself) during an exercise like a swing can be almost impossible.

The first thing I want to emphasize that you must be patient with the steps leading up to the kettlebell swing. You will know if you have successfully completed the steps if you finally pick up the kettlebell and swing it with some grace and efficiency. But, if you have sped through the progressions too quickly, your swing will be ugly and dangerous. And then more problems will arise when you progress to the clean and the snatch—which should look exactly like a swing in many ways since your arms simply guide the kettlebell to these other positions while your hips do all the work. These more sophisticated exercises will amplify and illuminate all the flaws with your kettlebell swing technique.

Many people speed through the progressions in various exercises thinking that if they have to be patient and spend the time mastering the basics (note: basic doesn’t mean easy) or need to regress the exercise, then they have somehow failed or gone backwards. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

A few things happen when people try to outsmart the process, or jump ahead in the progressions:

  1. They find out that their swing is terrible and have many things to troubleshoot.
  2. They get injured.
  3. All of the above.

Either way, they will end up spending much more time ironing out their kettlebell swing issues. Hopefully they will go to an RKC Workshop to learn the “a-ha drills” we teach to troubleshoot and save time. Otherwise, they risk getting sidelined by injury instead of patiently mastering the progressions and enjoying the journey. Speeding ahead with load and intensity usually causes limited or dysfunctional movement patterns, if adequate mobility and motor control (stability) aren’t achieved beforehand.

So, how should you fix your kettlebell swing?

Embrace the suck and regress to progress. One reason the swing is taught through a progression—at least in my opinion—is because of the patterning. In many respects, it’s similar to some of the ideas in the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). By the time you pick up a kettlebell, after all the correct patterning you have practiced , it shouldn’t look like you are trying to hump the bell! Instead, your kettlebell swing will be a thing of power and beauty.

The general rule is to only use techniques that improve form, quality of movement, and quality practice while reducing compensations. Unfortunately, many trainers don’t have a system for teaching the swing, they just pick up the kettlebell any way they can and then try to get it to move!

The FMS and the RKC teach patterning in this order:

  1. No load, pattern assistance.
  2. No load, no pattern assistance.
  3. Load, with pattern assistance.
  4. Load, with no pattern assistance.

In the RKC, we begin by teaching the hinge unloaded. This is often assisted in a variety of ways – either the student uses the blades of their hands in their hips to help find the hip crease (sometimes coined “chopping and popping”), they might push their butt back towards a wall, or use a dowel touching three points along the spine (head, between the scapula, and the sacrum) to teach how to maintain a neutral spine.

Next we would aim to do this without load, but with no pattern assistance. Our goal is to remove the pattern assistance and do the movement unloaded with perfect form. If the form breaks down we can go back and return to the pattern assistance method (dowel, wall, etc.) until the right movement becomes what we do every time. Old strength coaches were renowned for not letting their athletes pick up a bar until they could first do the movements correctly with a dowel or a stick.

The third stage is load with pattern assistance. In the RKC curriculum, this is the kettlebell deadlift. Placing the kettlebell in line with the heels also places the shoulder blades over the kettlebell. This makes for a foolproof deadlift when we simply stand up with the bell. If you can’t do it slow then you probably can’t do it fast—this is what grinds like the deadlift are all about. Slow is smooth, smooth will become fast later. If the deadlift lacks stiffness or tension, we can use the static stomp deadlift or Hardstyle plank to link the body with tension and to keep midline stability and posture.

The next step is using the deadlift drag or pendulum swing to teach the backswing and the start of the swing—pattern assistance with load. At the final stage we will do dead swings or the proper two handed swing, which is the load with no pattern assistance. If we have adequately mastered the first three steps, the final stage, load with no pattern assistance, will be solid.

Every time I progress a client who isn’t ready, I find that I spend a lot of time trying to troubleshoot their swing. Regressing these clients back to one of the first three stages of patterning was the fastest way to actually help them master the swing.

So relax and enjoy the journey. Be patient in your progress and understand you don’t have to master everything immediately. Basic doesn’t mean “easy”. Spend more time on patterning and you will likely spend less time with the difficult task of troubleshooting swings at full speed. This approach also works with more advanced exercises, for example if your clean isn’t great, your one arm swing probably will need work. If your press isn’t great, your clean will need work. If your kettlebell snatch isn’t great, then your one arm swing, clean, and press probably all need work too.

If you find that your swing isn’t great, don’t think of regressing to an earlier step as failure, or that you’ve made a mistake. You are still traveling in the right direction. Regressing to progress is an amazing strategy that will still have you traveling in the right direction.

***

Matt Beecroft, RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor is the director and head coach of Reality Self Defense & Conditioning in Adelaide, South Australia. He can be contacted through his website at realitysdc.com.au email: matt.beecroft@realitysdc.com.au or follow him on Facebook: facebook.com/MeetLifeHeadOn.

Training Mindfully

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Robin Sinclear Kettlebell Press

Before becoming a fitness coach, I was a Paramedic for over 20 years. Responding to 9-1-1 calls for that length of time taught me a lot—and I honed the skill of trusting my instincts. I learned how to read people and situations within a matter of seconds. I became acutely aware that situations can change in an instant, and that sometimes we must adapt and adjust even the best plans. I also realized that my temperament, and a calm, confident, commanding presence could determine the outcome of a situation. If I had a poor attitude or questioned my abilities, things could quickly go sour. These abilities became very important life skills that I now use daily when coaching, and in my own training.

These skills came from a need to be aware—a practice of being mindful and present. As a Paramedic, I was taught a step-by-step rapid assessment of the pre-hospital scene and of the patient. Within a matter of seconds, I needed to take in a global view of the scene, establish safety for the patient and practitioners, determine the mechanism of injury, and take action to stabilize life-threatening injuries. Once all of that was done, I constantly needed to reassess the patient’s condition—which could rapidly change for better or worse. I wasn’t “great” at all of those things in the beginning of my career. It took time and practice to sharpen these skills without falling into common traps like tunnel vision or failing to re-evaluate whether my interventions were making my patient better or worse.

Robin Sinclear WindmillBeing mindful requires an attentiveness that helps us recognize the conditions around and within us. Most people are not really “there” most of the time. Instead of being present, their minds are caught up in their worries, fears, insecurities, the past, or the future. All of this disconnect and distraction is not productive when we are training. Injuries, poor performance, or just a lousy workout are often side effects of not being fully present.

Practicing mindful training is a worthwhile discipline. When your mind is with your body, you are established and engaged in the present moment. We can then observe and respect how our bodies feel, then we can work on trusting our instincts. We will know if we need to push harder or back off, if we should add weight or go lighter for more reps? We will also know if our recovery methods are effective.

If you are wondering how to incorporate mindfulness into your kettlebell training, then try this in your next training session to reevaluate your direction on every set:

  • Perform a set of an exercise
  • Take 10 seconds and ask yourself what you should do next
  • Choose from the following
    1. Use a heavier kettlebell for the next set
    2. Decrease weight for next set
    3. All is good, repeat exactly as before
    4. Do less reps
    5. Do more reps
    6. Stop entirely

A training plan—and the workouts within that training plan—must be adaptable and adjustable based on how we feel in the present moment. When we are present and attuned to our bodies, then we can listen to our instincts and align the workout based on those observations. If your training plan calls for a max effort lift on a day you feel less than 100%, it will probably be counterproductive. Why not change or modify your plan until you have a day that you feel like a badass? Why push when it won’t go well, then beat yourself up mentally because you didn’t hit the number you were “supposed” to hit that day? Does it really matter for the big picture?

Robin Sinclear Get-UpIn general, I find that men have a harder time putting their ego aside and dialing back their workouts when they aren’t feeling 100%. Their tendency is often to “push through it”. This is usually when an injury occurs. On the other hand, women tend to fear trying a heavier lift—even if they’re feeling strong. In both situations, it pays to have a good coach who can help you read the signals from your body, and guide you in the appropriate direction.

Your attitude can make or break your performance as well. And none of this is an excuse to phone it in, effort-wise. If you tell yourself you “can’t”, you will be right every time. Remaining calm, confident, and commanding a good outcome will generally lead to great things!

Next time you head to the gym, try practicing some mindful training. I say “practice” because it takes repeating this action to improve. You will catch yourself drifting away many times, and that’s ok as long as you can become aware and shift your mind back to the center. Over time you will learn to read your body and your internal performance cues.

Your body provides you with constant feedback, and you need to listen. The more you listen, the more feedback your body will provide. Eventually you will be able to use the insight and awareness you gain from this practice throughout other areas of your life as well.

***

Robin Sinclear, RKC-II, is the co-owner of Velocity Strength and Fitness in Chico, California. Her website is VelocityChico.com. She can be reached by email at velocitystrong@gmail.com or by phone at 530-520-2297. Follow Velocity Strength and Fitness on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Living the Standard–A Snatch a Day Will Keep the Doctor Away

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RKC Instructor, Troy Anderson

Dan John is famous for the exposing the fitness world to an action-oriented quote from the legendary wrestler and coach, Dan Gable:

“If it is important you should do it every DAY!”

This idea has subsequently taken hold of the kettlebell—specifically the kettlebell swing. You don’t have to search hard to see the swing implemented in a huge variety of daily practices. The kettlebell swing’s extreme popularity has spawned a ton of swing challenges and a nearly obsessive quest to swing heavier and heavier kettlebells.

While the kettlebell swing is undeniably a great, unique drill—and a drill best suited to the kettlebell, I find it perplexing how the kettlebell swing has come to totally dominate the kettlebell landscape.

Unfortunately, the kettlebell snatch—deeply important to our kettlebell heritage—seems to be much less popular. I suspect this has happened because the kettlebell swing is extremely accessible and great for getting folks involved with kettlebell training. But, the kettlebell is much more than just a one trick pony. And while the kettlebell swing is very popular and powerful, we shouldn’t think that it can carry over to absolutely every attribute of physical culture.

This post contains my personal biases and appreciations of the kettlebell snatch as a move that combines violence and art. As a member of the kettlebell community, just like you, when I first learned about kettlebells, I was challenged by the trials and triumph of the kettlebell snatch.

Imagine for a moment if we as a COMMUNITY snatched every week. Imagine the knowledge we’d gain from honing that skill. And, having a common dialog in our community has always added depth to relationships within.

The swing is undoubtedly the “gateway drug” of kettlebell lifting. These days it seems like every Tom, Dick, and Jane Fonda is trying to teach kettlebells swings… And while WE KNOW the best practices, and correct techniques, the consumer does NOT.

The kettlebell snatch can be our OPPORTUNITY to stand out as practitioners and coaches. Even though the snatch is an advanced drill and many people are not yet ready for it, it is extremely valuable as a rite of passage.

In 2012, American Council on Exercise (ACE) choose the kettlebell snatch as the subject of their study on the effectiveness of kettlebell training. If a non-biased organization like the ACE found enough value to fund research using the kettlebell snatch, shouldn’t we pay more attention to it?

If you’re still skeptical about the teachable value of the snatch, consider the three ways that the kettlebell snatch differs from the kettlebell swing:

  • Fewer people are familiar with the lift
  • The weight travels a greater distance
  • The move has a defined “catch” at the top of the movement—a n0n-debatable end point.

During RKC testing, there is a lot of anxiety and pressure associated with the snatch test. The test–whether someone has passed or not–should not be the end of practicing the kettlebell snatch. Training with the kettlebell snatch can benefit you for a lifetime with the following:

Power: One of the first things to diminish as we get older—unless we take action.

Mobility: If you are not yet mobile enough to get your arms overhead for snatching, then it is time to work on mobility. Snatches can help maintain that mobility as well.

Stability with integrity: kettlebell snatches involve an asymmetrical load and anti-rotational training.

Conditioning: You can do a lot MORE work in less time (the ACE study supports this finding).

For most people, snatching in the context of the RKC snatch test is just too difficult. It can be uncomfortable and might even make some people a little nauseous! But that doesn’t mean that the drill itself is “too hard to teach”. The snatch is a more complex movement to teach than kettlebell swings, but isn’t rocket science either.

It takes a real coach to teach a snatch, because the margin for error is slimmer than with other drills—but part of why we are all part of the RKC community is to coach people UP. The sense of accomplishment we can help people achieve with good kettlebell snatches is incredible!

My challenge to the community is to Live the Standard Every Week. 

Here are 7 examples of what 100 snatches per week might look like: 

  • Option #1 – Lateral Stepping: 5 sets 10/10 with a medium to medium-light kettlebell
  • Option #2 – Sprinter Stance: 10 sets for 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest with a medium-light to light kettlebell
  • Option #3 – Low Volume / High Load: 10-12 sets 5/5-4/4 with a heavy to medium-heavy kettlebell
  • Option #4 – High Volume /Low Load: 2 sets 25/25 medium-light to light kettlebell
  • Option #5 – Complex Every Min on the Min for 10 Total Minutes: 10 snatches and on odd-numbered minutes do two kettlebell front squats. On even-numbered minutes, do one windmill
  • Option #6 – Tempo: 2 snatches every 15 seconds for 13 minutes with a medium to medium heavy kettlebell
  • Option #7 – Test or Modified Test: Take the RKC Snatch Test. Try to improve your performance, increase your pace, perform more reps in the allowed five minutes, or try it with a heavier kettlebell. See if you can do more than 50 reps in half the time as an experiment. Always track and document your results.

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: All of these options were written under the impression that the trainee is able to complete the RKC Snatch Test—which roughly equates to doing one snatch every three seconds**

https://youtu.be/Op_aNN_0v1o

While swings are definitely useful, unique, and accessible as a primary ballistic lift, even more athleticism can be gained by also practicing the kettlebell snatch. I challenge you to raise the bar—or rather raise the kettlebell into the snatch position and get to work! Live the standard as a practitioner, a coach, and as a community.

***

Troy M Anderson, RKC Instructor, DVRT Master Instructor is a farm kid driven to spread the good word of the ACCESSIBILITY of kettlebells, sandbags, bodyweight training, and UN-Apologetic Living. His website, Alpha Kettlebell also features many kettlebell workouts: https://alphakettlebell.leadpages.net/kbwod/

Movement and Learning the Get-Up

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Paul Britt Coaching Get-Up

movement (ˈmuːvmənt)
noun
Movement –

  1. The act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position.
  2. A particular manner of moving.
  3. A series of actions and events taking place over a period of time and working to foster a principle or policy
  4. A tendency or trend
  5. An organized effort by supporters of a common goal.

Movement is the back bone of athleticism and life. But, as a society we do not move the way that we did in youth. We are tied to desks, vehicles, and entertainment that requires us to just sit and become one with a chair. I started this post with the definition of movement as a beginning reference point.

The first two parts (a & b) of the definition are easy to cover and understand. We all move, and each of us has a particular way of moving. The question is, are we moving well? Most people seem to live in a position of flexion. We sleep, eat, drive and watch television from a bent and hunched position. We slouch and sag all day long. Guess what? Our bodies will take the path of least resistance and will stay in the posture that we live in. We were not created to just sit around; we were created to move, run, jump and play.

The third and fourth parts (c & d) of the definition describe what we need to change. We need to change our daily actions and events so that we restore the movement potential we were given at birth. It is time to get off the couch, up from the desk and actually start moving. We need to change our daily habits to allow our bodies to re-learn the movements and positions that we were born to do. Our kids are becoming slugs, thanks in part to videogames and constant visual entertainment. I have seen some kids play twelve hours of PS3, all while slouched and bent into weird positions. What happened to being outside all day, every day until the street lights came on?

The positions that we’re in all day do not help us live a full life. They prevent us from being able to run, play catch, or to live everyday life in the most efficient manner possible. We are held back by being bent and twisted in a life of sitting down. Sitting has been shown to increase the risk of death. Research has shown that sitting is associated with a higher risk of death after controlling for factors including age, gender, smoking status, physical activity, education, body mass index, and living in an urban/city environment.

I know that everyone wants to be active with their friends and family, and stay pain free and mobile into old age. I know I do! I want to be a pain in the rear of my family as long as possible! I think the best way to do this is to be 90 and move so well that no one can catch me!

We should move as much as we possibly can. Better movement allows us to have fewer injuries, live longer and have more productive lives. It is the cornerstone for our overall health.

How Do We Improve Movement Quality?

I teach the get-up as an antidote to improper movement and posture. The get-up is one of the best ways to battle the less-than-ideal positions our bodies grow into from our daily life of texting, sitting, and while working at most jobs. I find that while the get-up works wonders as a transformational exercise, many clients have a hard time learning it.  Some even need to earn the right to perform it.

I teach the steps a little different than most trainers. I like to teach the get-up from the bottom to the middle, and from the top to bottom. This approach seems to work really well for grooving the correct patterns into the neurological system.

Get-Up Tall Sit

I start from the Pick Up to the Tall Sit position. In the first step, roll from your side to prone. This strengthens a primal rolling pattern. Rolling patterns are great tools for teaching the body how to engage the core and stabilize the body under load. Why is this important? It allows the body to develop its innate stability and to connect the lower body to the upper body for more strength.

The next step is the Tall Sit. It allows you to work on shoulder mobility and stability. It will reinforce the connection the core has with the upper body. This is often the step that most of my clients need if their mobility is compromised. I kept one client at this stage for nine months while we worked on improving his thoracic mobility and core strength. During that time, the heaviest weight he used for the training was 4kgs. If we had forced the issue, he would have been injured. He was 60 when he began, and last I checked, he was using a 20kg kettlebell for full get-ups at age 63.

I teach the Hip Lift only as part three of the movement. I find that the movement becomes a little harder for my clients to perform after that point. They cannot initially get the idea of the moving from the low sweep to half kneeling or they do not have the proprioception to make the transition.

The next step that is taught is from standing down to half-kneeling. This allows the student to develop leg strength and improve their stability. It has been my experience that many clients lack stability in the lunge position. By working from standing to half kneeling, then moving through the reverse lunge under control, you can train stability while detecting any asymmetries the student may have. This lets us correct the asymmetry before continuing and possibly causing an injury.

Coaching the Get Up

Once the student has practiced the get up from the floor to low hip lift, and standing to half kneeling, it is time to teach the entire get up. I start from the top and have the student work from the standing position to the half kneeling position. We add the low sweep to the tall sit at this time. They finish the get up to the prone position. Then, they stand back up (not doing a get-up, they simply return to a standing position) and repeat the sequence a few times on each side. The student will perform the get up from standing to prone before reversing the process and performing the get up from the pick up to standing.

I have found that this approach has helped my students learn the get up much faster. By working on these pieces as needed, their mobility and stability has improved even on their first day. This sequencing seems to be less threatening and neurologically taxing for my students, which also allows them to learn it faster.

If you look back at the definition of movement at the beginning, the get up fits it to a “T.”

***
RKC Team Leader Paul Britt has been an RKC kettlebell instructor since 2006. He trains clients at Britt’s Training Systems, his award-winning Hardstyle Kettlebell Training Facility in Rockwall, Texas. Paul has served as an assistant instructor at many RKC and HKC Courses, is a Certified Kettlebell Functional Movement Specialist (CK-FMS) and works with some of the top Chiroprators in North Texas. Please visit his website brittstrainingsystems.com for more information.

It’s All About the Data

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Laurel Blackburn Senior RKC

I am a data freak. I love tracking my fitness, my nutrition, my accomplishments and my goals. I do this both for my clients and myself.

Back in the day when I first started bodybuilding, I just used a notebook. I jotted down my workouts and food but not much else. I really did not know if I was making progress in my strength. I did however know exactly what I was eating and how many calories I was consuming everyday. Keeping a food journal was a priority because I had to get as lean as possible for every show.

That was years ago and my goals have changed.

Since then I completed two half marathons. I printed out a running program I found online and stuck to that. I never logged my runs or anything else, I just followed the plan. I had days where my runs were horrible and I would end up walking a lot. I had days in which I felt I could run forever.

Had I kept a log and a food journal, I may have been able to see why; on certain days I felt like I was running through mud and why some days I felt like an Olympian. Maybe my nutrition, hydration and sleep had a big effect on my training. I would never know because I didn’t keep data.

Over the past few years my goals have changed. For several years I didn’t do much but train with kettlebells. I went from program to program and tried and stopped every one of them. I had workout dyslexia. I was always getting distracted by a shiny new program.

My personal training business pretty much followed the same fate. I either did not write down programs or I would throw something together before I headed to the gym to train my clients.

They did see results with weight loss and body composition which was fine because that is pretty much all they cared about. I never kept data on their actual progress in the gym. Many times I would have to ask how much weight we used on our last workout. Had I kept data, I would have been able to show them their progress.

Things changed for me when I began setting goals that had deadlines attached to them. Had I not kept data on my training, I doubt I would have accomplished much.

One of my goals, and still is to be the oldest woman to complete the Iron Maiden challenge. For those who may not know; I would need to do a pull-up, pistol squat and press the 24 kilo (53 pound) kettlebell.

First thing I did was to hire a coach. Second thing I did was to get a good log to journal my workouts and more importantly, my progress.

Over the years I have bought, downloaded and made my own workout logs. None of them had ALL of the features I wanted.

Convict Conditioning Log BookI came across the Convict Conditioning Log Book. Even though it’s focus is on the CC program, I loved the layout and used it for my personal goals. I don’t do the CC program and didn’t pay attention to that part of the log. It didn’t matter because the actual log pages had everything I was looking for.

Once I started keeping data on my workouts, I was able to progress and regress as needed. I also was able to share with workouts with my coach. If he asked me about a past workout or weights used, I could flip to the page and let him know.

Having this data was crucial for reaching my goals. My coach was able to use this info to program my training cycles.

That is not the only data I keep. I still log my food and my running.

I am proud to say that I am one of those obnoxious people who have to take 5 minutes before a run to start my heart rate monitor, my Map My Run app, my music and my interval timer.

Funny thing is, I am not even a serious runner and I’m not very good at it. I do it for fun and to spend time with my friends. Do I really need that much data on my running? No. I just love having the data and more importantly, the gadgets.

****

Senior RKC, Laurel Blackburn owns Boot Camp Fitness and Training and Tallahassee Kettlebells.  Look for Laurel at www.bootcampstogo.com or www.tallahasseekettlebells.com.

In her early fifties, she is out to prove that age is just a number. Her goal is to motivate and inspire people everywhere, both young and old that strength, flexibility and mobility can get better with age. Follow her adventures on her blog: www.SuperStrongNana.com.

Practical Programming

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Max Shank Teaching In Germany

Programming is a scary word for coaches, trainers, and exercisers. There seems to be this mystic fog of confusion centered around the idea that the way you put an exercise plan together will completely make or break your gains. Obviously we are all afraid of wasting our time in the gym, so it’s natural for us to feel this way about it–we want optimal results!

There has been a ludicrous amount of time, energy, and experimentation in trying to determine some of the best training plans and methods. You can take a simple idea: “Exercise=good” and after years and years of research, start to worry about whether you did enough transverse plane movements at 85% of your 1RM on Day 4 in week 3 of your 12-week periodized program within a 3 year macrocycle.

Confused yet? Yeah I know.

Here’s the thing, there is a decent amount of science and experimentation to back this stuff up, so in theory it makes sense.

However, my two main issues with complicated programming are centered around the following:

1) Reality
2) Who is this for again?

In a land where unicorns roam free and butterflies kiss the cheek of every child, maybe these intricate plans make sense. However, we live in the real world. We get in an argument with the wife, the kids keep you up all night, you’re stressed out at work, maybe you got super drunk last weekend or didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Whatever it is, we are not consistent nor are we precisely linear. A good plan allows for wiggle room based on how you feel on a given day. Trying to force a certain amount of reps/sets or movements on a day where you maybe shouldn’t is a surefire way to injure yourself. Don’t force square pegs into round holes. Take advantage of the days when you feel good, and don’t push your luck on the days where you don’t.

Most of the best-known and revered programs in the world all center around heavily specified activities like powerlifting/Olympic lifting or gymnastics. What we fail to remember is that these programs are geared toward PROFESSIONALS in these SPECIFIC sports. Last I checked, most of us are just trying to feel better, look better, and then perform better. I don’t know about you but I don’t get paid by the pound when I do a deadlift. The issue here is that we are sacrificing the main goal (better health and fitness) for the secondary cause (lifting more weight). I know that we love measuring things, and it’s a very efficient metric, but let’s not forget why we are lifting weights or training in the first place!

Professional athletes sacrifice health for performance all the time–because they are paid to do so. If you’re not getting paid to lift more weight, you might want to rethink using a program that is built for those who do.

Here’s some parting wisdom when it comes to putting a plan together.

Your nervous system likes frequency over intensity, so train full body workouts and hit all the main patterns every session.

  • Upper Push
  • Upper Pull
  • Lower Push
  • Lower Pull

Be flexible. When you feel super strong, throw on some extra weight. When you don’t feel 100% focus more on things like flexibility and medium weights.

Max Shank Twisted Flagstand

Build your plan around the rest of your life.

One of the biggest problems with any plan is consistency. So take a look at your schedule for the week and find the BEST times where training will fit around that–you want to remove as many barriers as possible when it comes to working up the motivation to work out. Have a plan for when you can’t make it to the gym so you can still train at home or at the park–it’s always good to have a plan B.

The challenge is not in lifting the weight, the challenge is in having the resolve and forethought to be consistent over the long term.

Better every day.
-Max

***
Master RKC Instructor Max Shank is the owner of Ambition Athletics in Encintas, California. He is very active in martial arts, competes in the Highland Games, and promotes a holistic approach to overall fitness. For more information about Max please visit www.maxshank.com.

Max Shank is the author of Master the Kettlebell, now available in paperback and ebook format.

He has also recently released Ultimate Athleticism, an ebook and training program.

Combining Ancient Practice and Modern Sports Science

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RKC Team Leader Florian Kiendl KB Split

Because I come from a classical, non-contact school of Tae Kwon Do, the RKC has caused huge a paradigm shift in the way I approach my training. Many classical martial arts have a Zen like approach—just do the movements and see what they will teach you over time.

A fellow taekwondo friend, Valentino Solinas from Italy, recently posted a quote that sums up this idea:

“You may begin the study of martial arts and you may quit the study of martial arts, but you can never complete the study of martial arts…”

Training with this mindset can eliminate potential frustration if results are not coming easily or quickly. This mindset also reduces competitiveness among students which can sometimes otherwise lead to hubris and all its related problems.

Even if progress seems stifled, training with this mindset can be very rewarding over many years—regardless of one’s physical condition at the beginning. I have witnessed my former teacher’s mother start practicing Tae Kwon Do several times a week even though she is well over 70 years old and has a medical history that could fill a book. She once told me if she had known how good this training would make her feel, she would have started much earlier and that it might have prevented many of her health concerns. There’s no way she would ever learn to kick to head level or do a controlled spin kick, but it did not matter. She trained with beginners and black belts—and I think she taught everyone a lesson for life. Her last training session was one day before she died.

My RKC Epiphany

When I was introduced to RKC kettlebell training in 2009, I had the martial arts mindset. It struck me from the beginning when many concepts I had intuitively grasped over many years of training were explained to me in mere minutes in plain and simple words. How much easier could I make it for my students if I used the RKC teaching concepts? With a deep understanding of human movement, training progress can be planned and obstacles avoided before they even show their ugly faces. To me this was an epiphany and it immediately changed my views on training. I started learning and experimenting with it and continue to today.

In recent years, I learned how to integrate both systems to fill gaps or avoid roadblocks for my students and I. I want to give two examples—one I use in my own training sessions and one I use to teach my students how to perform better kicks.

Integrating Taekwondo Forms in Kettlebell Sessions

One example of combining my martial arts practice with my kettlebell training is to use Tae Kwon Do Hyongs as a warm up or in between my strength sets as physical and mental resets.

Florian Kiendl Hyong

Hyongs are predefined sets of movements that simulate combat against several attackers. The higher the form, the more difficult and complex it is—some forms have more than 100 movements. Hyongs present a martial arts movement flow that allows a student who has mastered the general flow of the form to immerse himself in the movements. The student will also learn to understand the movements in the context of a fight. There is a massive difference between performing a single strike, blow or block in practice and performing the same movement in context of a series of attacks and parries. In the time before protective gear was available, these forms presented the only option for practicing combat situations with full force without risking injury to oneself or a sparring partner.

By integrating Hyongs into my kettlebell sessions I gain big benefits:

  • Most of the movements are performed over a full range of motion, and work as a complete reset of all major joints.
  • All movements are executed with full force, but without any external resistance or long isometric contractions. Every muscle is activated without getting fatigued.
  • The quick movements ensure that I don’t get tight or stiff.
  • I get to practice my Hyongs more often 😉
  • The average Hyong takes 30 or more seconds to perform and is non-taxing aerobic activity between sets.
  • Most forms are complex enough to require enough concentration that an advanced practitioner will enter an almost meditative state of mind. This works as an effective mental reset, if the last set did not go well and my mind is distracted, the forms will help me avoid a downward spiral.

Using Tension Techniques to Teach Better Kicks

From all martial arts I know, Tae Kwon Do has the highest physical demand. Bringing your leg to head level with force and accuracy takes extreme mobility, crazy-strong hips and superb coordination. All these perquisites don’t come easy, especially if you start past your twenties.

Florian Kiendl SLDL

For years I watched new students explore these new movements with varying success—some are naturals who walk in the Dojang and start training as if they never did anything else, and they are a pleasure to teach. On the other hand, some train for years and years with dedication and simply do not progress past a very basic level. When I started holding Tae Kwon Do lessons in my first teacher’s school, I assumed that it was something genetic, a Tae Kwon Do gene that made the difference!

After learning and understanding the concept of tension, I made an effort to integrate the drills and techniques we use in the RKC for teaching a good swing, snatch or military press in my Tae Kwon Do lessons to facilitate good kicking mechanics.

The fundamental concept is the same for kettlebell swing and high kicks—the tighter we stay while only moving the necessary joints to accomplish the task, the more force we can generate.

By adding the RKC tension techniques to my Tae Kwon Do sessions, I managed to create “aha”-moments for my students so the would know how it feels when the technique is executed correctly.

Here’s how:

  • I demonstrate a drill or technique and have my students practice it for a while.
  • As soon as they have the general idea, I let them practice on their own or with a partner and observe which problems occur.
  • Usually I find a pattern that could be improved and I try to figure out which drills could help.
  • I stop the practice and have them do the drill that I assume will help the most.
  • Immediately afterwards we return to the original exercise and see if it worked.
  • Sometimes it takes several attempts to find the drill that will work best or we may use more than one to address the different issues.

Using this approach, black belts have come to me after the session saying things like, “I finally understand how to execute this technique!”

Conclusion

Don’t see the RKC System as a closed environment, or the drills we use as special and exclusive to the kettlebell. Experiment with different combinations and observe the results. The RKC System is designed to improve any athletic endeavor. Be creative and learn the best ways to improve your game.

Have Fun.

***
RKC Team Leader Florian Kiendl is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and runs a Martial Arts Gym in a small town close to Munich (Germany). He made it his mission to help his students to improve their movement and overall health. In his search for ways to overcome the movement restrictions of his students (and his own) he found the RKC and now works together with Master RKC Robert Rimoczi and others to help as many people as possible to gain back their Strength and Agility.

He writes a regular Blog at blog.kettlebellgermany.de and offers workshops all over Germany teaching the RKC Kettlebell exercises: KettlebellGermany.de.
If you have questions or comments on the article feel free to email him at florian@kettlebellgermany.de

Mental Focus: A Trainer’s Secret Weapon

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Florian Kiendl double kettlebell

It is obvious that mental focus is a great asset to any athlete. If you see any high level athlete work his magic, one thing that they all have in common is the ability to get into the zone–to be 100% in the present with their mind on the task at hand. My grandmaster Son Jong Ho told me that if he performs his spectacular stone breaks with bare hands, his mind is focused 100% on the desired result. There is no room for doubt or distraction.

Often in interviews after a less than optimal performance, athletes will say that they simply lost their focus. I think we can all agree that mental focus is an indispensable skill for any athlete to learn. But why is it the same for trainers?

The Trainer’s Dilemma

Anybody who is actively training people knows the frustration of standing in the gym and watching a client performing an exercise with less than optimal technique. You have told him a dozen times how to do it right, but he simply does not get it.

In the RKC, we have detailed and tested teaching progressions to enable our students to get into the right feeling before actually performing the exercise. For instance do we teach the Hardstyle plank before the swing so our students can understand how a completely tensed body should feel.

But even with the best teaching progressions, beginners tend to get sloppy and lose their concentration. After you have shouted, “Tense your glutes!” for the fiftieth time, your students start to simply tune you out.

Your Secret Weapon

Here is your secret weapon… In the classical martial arts, where my origins lie, it is very common for a trainer not to explain the techniques during class. Some masters do not even talk while training their students. This approach has its drawbacks, but it supports the athletes in getting into the right mindset by simply copying what the master does. After training several years with my first Tae Kwon Do, teacher I became so in tune that I often knew the next exercise before we were finished with the current one–and no, my teacher did not do the same exercises every day.

You can use this mental connection with your client to help them perform on a higher level. You simply extend your mental focus to them. Please don’t take this as esoteric concept, I have used this technique both as a student and a teacher many times. Try it and see for yourself.

How To Make It Work

I cannot really explain how it works, but I can explain how you can make it work for you. First let’s have a look at the receiving end:

As a Student…

First pick a technique that you are already familiar with, but want to improve. Find somebody who is performing this technique at a significantly higher level than you and watch them perform. (It is helpful if that person’s body type is similar to yours.) You can even use YouTube for this experiment, but it is best if you can observe them in person. This is also why we expect our RKC candidates to pass a strict technique testing before we allow them to teach. 😉

While the person you are watching executes the lift, try to get the feeling of what he or she is feeling at this instant. Don’t go into too much detail or analyze, just take in the general picture. After you’ve seen the lift, grab a kettlebell that is suitable for you and try to reproduce the lift. Go by feel.

As a Trainer…

When you are watching a student perform a lift with only a minor flaw in his technique, let your mind lift with him or her. This is not telepathy. The student should have trained with you for a while, and already know the general execution of the exercise. Fixing the minor flaws in the execution of the exercise that are hard to describe make such a huge difference in the long run.

Avoid doing or mimicking the lift along with your client, just reproduce the same feeling of tension in your mind. If you do it right, you will feel your muscles activate as if you are actually moving. I have witnessed many students change their movement pattern instantly without me saying a word.

Kettlebell Class in Germany

The Limitations of This Technique

This technique is not a magic trick. It can only be performed successfully when the following conditions are true:

  • The trainer is highly skilled at the exercise.
  • The trainer has a good ability to focus his mind.
  • The student has known the trainer for some time and trust is established.
  • The student has no physical limitations that prevent correct technique.
  • The student has a basic understanding of the exercise at least.

It is no replacement for good teaching progressions like those taught at our HKC and RKC Certifications. But, this use of mental focus  is a tool that can sometimes help to save you and your students a lot of frustration.

***
RKC Team Leader Florian Kiendl is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and runs a Martial Arts Gym in a small town close to Munich (Germany). He made it his mission to help his students to improve their movement and overall health. In his search for ways to overcome the movement restrictions of his students (and his own) he found the RKC and now works together with Master RKC Robert Rimoczi and others to help as many people as possible to gain back their Strength and Agility.

He writes a regular Blog at blog.kettlebellgermany.de and offers workshops all over Germany teaching the RKC Kettlebell exercises: KettlebellGermany.de.
If you have questions or comments on the article feel free to email him at florian@kettlebellgermany.de