RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

Mobility and Flexibility

How and Why to Practice Slow Motion Kettlebell Get-Ups

By Leave a Comment

Shari Wagner Slow Motion Get-up

At a Dragon Door workshop back in 2010, a Senior RKC taught us how to do slow motion get-ups and my life was forever changed!

In theory, slowing down a get-up sounds simple enough—but you know what they say about “simple but not easy”! When I tried a slow motion get up for the first time, I noticed that I wanted to go through it way too fast. At the workshop, we were instructed to try and take a full minute to get from the floor to standing, and then another full minute to get back to the floor.

I was amazed. Simply slowing down the pace of the get-up amplified every nuance of each step and each movement. The weight is also amplified. At the time, I was able to do a solid get-up with a 16g kettlebell—and sometimes a 20kg. I scoffed when they told the women to use an 8kg kettlebell. Quickly, I realized that when moving slowly, an 8kg kettlebell is no joke! Time under tension is increased—and the whole move is much more difficult.

I found that certain parts of the get-up were excruciatingly had to do slowly—and that the steps requiring mobility in areas where I was tight were the most difficult of all. This slow motion drill was a great lesson. It taught me where I needed to improve my mobility, and where my strength and movement quality needed help.

Shari Wagner kettlebell Get-upSlow motion get-ups are different than doing a get-up at a regular pace and pausing at each step. Perform a slow motion get-up as though you’re watching yourself on video, frame by frame. Definitely pause at each step to check yourself (just as you would in a regular get-up) but move in super slow motion from one step to the next. At first, you may want to try slow motion get-ups with no weight. It’s surprising how challenging this drill can be!

If you find a step where you aren’t able to move in slow motion or where you naturally speed up, then that’s an area that needs some work. You may need to mobilize your hips, shoulders, and/or your thoracic spine. Or, it may be that an area needs more strength and stability. Attack the issue from all angles, but if you feel like your body is stuck, then it’s usually because of a mobility issue.

Another way to improve your technique is to take note of asymmetries in your movements from left to right. These movement asymmetries can also be caused by immobility or lack of strength and/or stability.

Improve Mobility Challenges With These Drills:

When practicing the half get-up (at the elbow or posting to the hand) insufficient thoracic mobility can cause people to slump forward or be unable to get into a tight position with the shoulders packed and the side of the body straight. Another compensation for poor thoracic mobility is compensating by arching the lower back.

Here’s one of my favorite drills to improve thoracic mobility:

Rotational thoracic mobility is also important for the get-up, since the half get-up and half windmill phases are in the transverse plane. Here’s a helpful drill:

For shoulder stability, I love the simplicity of a good waiter’s walk. During the drill, really focus on using your lats to hold your arm overhead. Think about drawing your entire arm and shoulder down into the socket.

The “standing bird dog” is a great drill that delivers a double whammy of shoulder stability, core stability and strength in both areas. Dan John describes it in detail in the Hardstyle Kettlebell Challenge. Start by pressing the kettlebell overhead. Set the arm and shoulder in place, as in a waiter’s walk. Then, lift the leg on the same side (raising the knee up) and hold. When you can no longer keep your balance, put your foot back on the ground and then raise the other leg. Hold then switch the kettlebell to your other arm and repeat the drill.

Good luck with the slow motion get-up and these mobility drills. Please leave your comments below if you’ve tried them before, or if you try the drills for the first time now!

****

RKC Team Leader Shari Wagner, RKC-II, PCC, CK-FMS owns Iron Clad Fitness in Denver, Colorado. She can be contacted through her website at IronCladFit.com, email: info@ironcladfit.com or by phone 720-900-4766. Follow her on Facebook: facebook.com/IronCladFitness and Twitter: twitter.com/IronCladFitness.

Swinging Through Pregnancy, Prenatal Kettlebell Training – Part 1

By 2 Comments

Kathleen Walthers Kettlebell With Baby

“You need to avoid any high-impact exercises, running, and lifting heavy anything heavier than about 10-15 pounds.” As an avid CrossFitter, Boston Marathon-qualifier and finisher, triathlete and fitness enthusiast, these words from my doctor were difficult to digest. But having just confirmed I was pregnant at nearly 43 years of age, and with multiple high-risk factors, including two miscarriages within the prior two years, he did not want me to take any chances. I decided not to take the advice—or spend my pregnancy—lying down. Instead, I set out to find a way to stay fit and active within these safety parameters.

I had first been introduced to kettlebells a few years earlier at my CrossFit box, but the only formal training I had was a 90-minute seminar taught by an RKC-certified instructor at another fitness certification earlier that year. The seminar showed me the power of the kettlebell and sparked my interest. But after the seminar, I went back to my regularly scheduled programming—CrossFit and running, until my doctor put the kibosh on both of these activities. I asked my doctor what he thought about kettlebells, and he admitted to not knowing much about them. He asked if they were a high-impact activity (no) and whether I could keep the weight low (yes, I could). So, with his blessing, I picked up a kettlebell and started swinging.

Eight months later, I gave birth to a gorgeous, healthy baby girl. My love for her and for kettlebells continues to grow every day. Throughout my pregnancy, I spent my free time reading, researching and following experts on kettlebells and prenatal fitness. I focused on learning the proper form of the six foundational RKC moves, while designing a balanced program that took into account the limitations associated with my pregnancy.

It is likely you have or will have a client who is pregnant, and I want to share the top six lessons I learned through my own trial-and-error. Hopefully this will help you coach them effectively and safely throughout their pregnancy while avoiding the common pitfalls even top trainers make when working with moms-to-be.

Kathleen Walthers 3 days before giving birth
Kathleen Walters, 3 days before giving birth.

1. Encourage your client to partner with her doctor about fitness and nutrition. Doctors are medical professionals; most are not fitness or nutrition professionals. As a Precision Nutrition Level 2-certified nutrition coach and lifelong athlete, early on it became clear that I was more knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition than my doctor. He also admitted it! While respecting my doctor’s advice and prioritizing my own health and safety and the health and safety of my baby, I challenged some of his fitness recommendations, providing research and data to support my position.

Because of our back-and-forth, I was able to create a pregnancy fitness program that satisfied my own needs and interests but addressed my doctor’s concerns. It is critical that your client has clearance to train from a medical professional prior to beginning a prenatal program. Partnering with the doctor can help you and your client navigate pregnancy in a way that keeps her healthy, happy and fit.

2. Keep the workouts short and simple. Pregnancy is not the time for lengthy and complicated workouts. Throughout a pregnancy, women often experience bouts of fatigue (particularly in the first and third trimesters) and nausea (most prevalent in the first trimester aka “morning sickness,” though mine hit in the late afternoon and evening). Expectant moms are also usually juggling numerous career and household responsibilities while preparing for the baby. I programmed workouts that lasted as little as 15 minutes, and supplemented these sessions with daily walks with my puppy. This allowed me to easily fit 4-5 workouts a week into my busy schedule.

3. Stay flexible with your clients’ programming and give them options for when they are not feeling 100% or are stressed. My workouts during pregnancy followed my “3S System” of programming: include skill, strength, and sweat in each session. Instead of a specific number of sets to complete in a workout, each workout section was time-based (As Many Rounds As Possible or AMRAP-style). This allowed me to adjust the length of my workouts according to my schedule on any given day.

A typical workout looked something like this:

Warm-up:
Squat-to-stand: 5
Bodyweight single-leg deadlift: 5 R/L
Light halo: 5 R/L

Skill Work:
(5-10 minute AMRAP)
Bodyweight single-leg squat-to-box (pistol practice): 2-3 R/L

Strength Work:
(5-15-minute AMRAP)
One-arm rows: 6-8 R/L
Double kettlebell suitcase deadlift: 6-8
Seated one-arm military press: 6-8 R/L

Sweat Work:
(5-10 minute EMOTM Every Minute On The Minute) complete:
Two-hand kettlebell swings: 5
Double kettlebell farmer’s carry: 20 seconds

Cool Down:
Hamstring stretch
Hip flexor stretch
Diaphragmatic breathing

Stay tuned for part 2, where I will cover the next 3 tips for trainers working with expecting mamas.

Be happy, healthy and strong,
Kathleen Walters, RKC

 

****

Written in collaboration with Master RKC Michael Krivka

Kathleen Walters, RKC is known as the “Kettlebell Mama”. She is a lifelong athlete based in Washington, DC, who specializes in coaching busy moms and moms-to-be in-person and remotely, helping them incorporate healthy fitness and nutrition habits into their chaotic “mom life.” To learn more about Kathleen and her coaching services, email her at kathleen@bellsandpeppers.com, or visit her website and popular blog at http://www.bellsandpeppers.com.

How Well Do You Move?

By 4 Comments

Master RKC Phil Ross, Kettlebell Pullover

How well do we—as humans—move? When we move are we trying to avoid or minimize pain? There seem to be three major areas of pain, have you wondered why these areas are so afflicted, even with people who are “in shape”?

The low back (lumbar region), the knees (distal femur, proximal tibia, fibula and patella) and the shoulders (glenohumeral and sterno-clavicular joints) are the pain points for many people. Why?

Two words need to be considered: stability and mobility. Certain joints of the body prefer stability and others favor mobility. Feet, knees, the low back and scapular regions favor stability. Ankles, hips, the thoracic spine (middle back) and glenohumeral joints (shoulders) flourish with mobility. The joints need to do what they are designed to do. If not, then asymmetries and injuries occur. And here’s the double whammy—not only will the misaligned joint be affected, the ones above and below it will too! For example, if a person has tight hips, their hip movement will be compromised. The movement will need to take place in other parts of the body, usually the knees and low back, both of which are stability-favoring joints above and below the hips. This creates instability in these joints, resulting in pain and anomalies.

Many people have low back pain. They might stretch their backs, get chiropractic adjustments, or take pain pills, but the issue will still not be addressed. The real issue be that the hips are tight and immobile, and/or the hamstrings are too tight. They may also have immobility issues if their thoracic spine (t-spine) is not strong enough or mobile enough to move safely. Are the erector spinea and the multifidi muscles (muscles that connect the vertebra) strong and engaged? Are the rhomboids, trapezius and other muscles of the scapula developed? Does the individual know how to keep them engaged? On many occasions, low back issues really lie in the areas above and below. Addressing the strength and flexibility of these major joints often significantly relieves back pain.

How do we address and avoid these issues? First, if you are not training, start. You’ll move better, feel better and live a longer (and often more productive) life. Next, consider that type of training, is it cardio, mobility or strength based? Are you getting the correct balance for optimal health? With your strength training or resistance training, are you using closed chain or open chain exercises? Closed chain movements involve more joints of the body and tend to be better for you. Open chain movements are more isolated and can have a shearing effect on the joint.

For example, let’s compare bodyweight squats and leg extensions. Bodyweight (or weighted for that matter) squats are a closed chain movement. The major joints and muscle groups addressed are the hips, knees and ankles, and the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocs (calves) are on the muscle side of the equation. Other muscles and stabilizers are involved at lesser degrees along with a good deal of core engagement for bracing. When performing squats, the feet are firmly planted and positive joint compression is employed. In contrast, leg extensions only address the quadriceps with concentric and eccentric contractions. The other leg muscles are virtually dormant and only the knee joint is involved. There is a shearing effect on the knee joint which may cause injury over time. In my estimation, this machine should be disassembled, melted down and repurposed as something useful, like a kettlebell! Just ask yourself, when you walk, run or jump, do you isolate a muscle or use your whole limbs and torso? In a rehabilitation situation or in bodybuilding, then muscle isolation may be appropriate, but otherwise multi-joint movements are superior.

There are many reasons why kettlebell training is my central mode of training. With kettlebells, all of the facets of fitness are addressed: strength, explosive power, flexibility, durability, muscular endurance, cardiovascular training, and mobility. Let’s consider mobility. Outsiders (I’m referring to those not acquainted with bonafide kettlebell training), only view kettlebell training as strength, explosive power and muscular endurance, but not necessarily promoting healthy mobility.

Along with the bo staff, freehand mobility and calisthenics I lead on a daily basis in my classes, there are three kettlebell based complexes we use to prepare for the rigors of the training session. We execute 10 repetitions of each movement on each side, or in each direction where applicable. The first complex is figure-8, then low, middle, and high halos. The second complex is bottoms-up crescent swings, kettlebell good mornings, and goblet squats. The third complex is the RKC armbar, lying side swings, and kettlebell pullovers.

Let’s discuss the third complex: the RKC armbar, lying side press and the kettlebell pullover. Generally, we do 10 repetitions of the armbar, 10 reps of the lying side press on both sides, and then 10 reps of the kettlebell pullover. Two sets of each.

The Armbar packs the shoulder and prepares the participant for overhead work. Lie on your side in the fetal position as if you were starting a get-up. Grasp the kettlebell by the handle, bring it to your shoulder, then roll onto your back. With two hands, press the kettlebell upward. Make sure that your wrist is straight, your elbow is locked, and your shoulder is packed. If the kettlebell is in your right hand, take your right leg and bring it to the other side of your body so that your hip is facing the floor and most of your anterior is in the prone position. Do all of this while maintaining a relaxed neck and while rotating kettlebell in space. Attempt to bring your right hip as close to the floor as possible as you keep your arm and wrist locked. Once you’ve settled into the bottom of this movement, bring your right leg across the body until you are supine with the kettlebell above. This movement needs to be performed slowly, to maximize the opening of the hips and packing of the shoulders. Relish the time under the kettlebell as your thoracic region savors the mobility!

The Lying Side Press is to be done as soon as you have completed the armbar. As you are on your side, press the kettlebell upward. It is imperative to maintain a straight wrist and vertical forearm throughout this exercise. Pull the kettlebell down so that your elbow is slightly behind your hip. Keep the kettlebell steady and feel your rhomboids working. If you feel stress in your anterior deltoid, you are doing the movement incorrectly and most likely not keeping your forearm vertical.

Phil Ross Lying Side Press Sequence

The Kettlebell Pullover is a movement that’s very easy to cheat! Don’t be “that guy” or “that girl”. The kettlebell is on the ground above your head as you lie in the supine position. Grasp the kettlebell in both hands at the horns and bring it overhead. Now, lock your arms. While you lower the kettlebell, remember the phrase “sometimes, always, never”. Sometimes your thoracic region comes off of the ground, Always have your head and cervical spine off of the ground and Never let your lumbar spine or hips come off of the ground. So, lower the bell with your head off of the mat and do not allow the kettlebell to touch the ground. As you keep the bottom of the kettlebell facing away from you, raise it so that it is perpendicular to the floor. Pause. Next, contract your abdominals as you bring the kettlebell straight upward while keeping your lumbar spine on the floor. Repeat this process for 10 repetitions.

PhilRoss Kettlebell Pullover Sequence

If you have any questions regarding this RKC blog post or any other kettlebell or fitness related matter, please feel free to contact me.

Strength and Honor!

Coach Phil 

 

***

Phil Ross Master RKC, 8th Degree Black Belt, CK-FMS, PCC and ACE Certified. Author of Ferocious Fitness and Survival Strong, producer of The Kettlebell Workout Library. He is also the Chief Instructor at American Eagle MMA & Kettlebells

The Get-Up

By 6 Comments

The Get-Up

When in doubt, I pull John Jesse’s classic book, Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia (printed in 1974), off my shelf. Jesse collected the history and wisdom of every strength, conditioning and wrestling coach and compiled it into a rare book that covers all the bases of strength training.

The first lesson one learns when reading Jesse is humility. In case you think YOU invented something, flip through the pages to find:

  • Swings
  • Sandbags
  • Circuit training (including mixing bodyweight work with barbells)
  • Rehab, prehab, tendon and ligament work
  • And, many, many more ideas involving equipment, movement and training
  • Oh…and the get-up

On page 154, we meet Otto Arco. He was the model for many of Rodin’s sculptures and we remember him for his skill in one particular exercise:

Arco, at a bodyweight of 138 pounds, could do a one hand get-up with 175 pounds. The get-up was his “secret” to all around body strength, body power and body composition. Arco wrote this in his book, How to Learn Muscle Control:

The main purpose of muscle control is self-mastery. Muscle control involves far more than the mere ability to make the muscles contract. It teaches you to relax, which is sometimes even more important than contraction. It gives you a selective control, and therefore the ability to single out those muscles necessary to the work to be done, and only those muscles; leaving the antagonistic, or non-helpful, muscles relaxed.

Arco, over a century ago, singled out the core and keys to the Hardstyle system: “selective control.” This is the ability to turn to stone when necessary and to relax…when necessary! It is the secret behind Bruce Lee’s one-inch punch and the ability to hit a golf ball far. We find the get-up in Jesse’s chapter 13, “All Around Strength and General Power Exercises,” where we also discover the ballistic exercises like the swing, the jerk and what we would now call “snatches” in the kettlebell world.

Arco maintained a honed physique that he modeled well into his sixties by focusing on an understanding of muscle-control. While the swing and goblet squat will illuminate the role of flicking the switch of hard/tight and fast/loose, the get-up will demand something best summarized by Jesse (155):

The athlete, in projecting his total body strength in competition, must mold the strength of localized areas into a total coordinated body effort.

The get-up, sometimes called the Turkish get-up was named after the great tradition of Turkish wrestlers using this move as an entrance test. It has enjoyed a rebirth in the new millennium due to the efforts of members of the RKC. At its simplest, the get-up is simply getting up off the floor with a load and returning back down. It can be done to exacting measures with fourteen or more separate steps up and fourteen or more back down. Somewhere in the middle is how we will teach the get-up.

Although the true benefits are “a total coordinated body effort”, when you observe the get-up, you find that many isolation movements are present, too:

Basic rolling

Press

Hinge

Lunge

Loaded carry (waiter walk)

We also find the “four knots”. The hips and shoulders must be both tight enough and loose enough to roll, slide and adapt through the positions as we move from the ground to standing. Both shoulders are engaged during the full movement at a variety of angles and loading parameters. One needs to be tight and loose throughout as we flow through the positions.

The get-up teaches the ability to remain stiff and tense through movement. When discussing reps of the get-up, I always err on the side of fewer. There are two reasons:

  1. Safety is part of performance.
  2. Trashing doesn’t help tuning.

The first point is the key to the RKC Code of Conduct. Don’t trip over a kettlebell haphazardly left on the floor. Don’t let go of a swing and hit someone in the face with a kettlebell. Don’t go out of your way to be stupid just to become (in)famous on the internet.

Those are all tenants of the “safety is part of performance” idea. With the get-up, a kettlebell is held directly above your skull. The kettlebell will win in a collision, so don’t drop it on your head.

More to the point, the get-up teaches total body coordination and total body strength. Like the Olympic lifts—the barbell snatch and barbell clean and jerk—it takes a level of focus to perform a get-up correctly. A single heavy get-up reflects the training base of perhaps months or years to get the movement “right.” Like the Olympic lifts, one doesn’t see the months of training and preparation that allow one to perform—and, yes, perform is the right word—a heavy get-up.

I keep the reps low to insure concentration, focus and optimal performance. As an Olympic lifting coach, I rarely get over ten reps in either lift with good lifters. With the get-up, I have found that few people can maintain the high levels of mental and physical coordination beyond about ten reps, too.

Get-up Kneeling Windmill

The second point is hard for many of our hard-charging brothers and sisters to understand: getting trashed is something a college freshman or someone who really doesn’t understand training does. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone online doing Tabata get-ups some day (twenty seconds of get-up, ten seconds rest for four minutes) or some kind of “get-ups to failure.”

This kind of nonsense is an issue in the fitness industry. Sadly, it is what most people “hear” when we say the phrase “training session”.

Even though I want to make you move better and move more, most people’s ears tell them that I want you to puke in a bucket and lay in a sweaty mess on the floor.

No!

The get-up is all about tuning the body. The words “tune” and “tone” come from the same root. When we train people, we should be trying to tune them up. If you sit too much, stretching the hip flexor family and strengthening the glutes will do much more together.

When someone struggles in a get-up or cheats a position a bit, it tells us that something is going on today. I use the get-up and variations of it to access what is going on with a person that day. An unusual hitch in movement or a lack of mobility here or there can be addressed instantly if we see the get-up as a tuning exercise rather than a trashing movement.

Speed can mask problems. The get-up highlights weak links and poor linkage. My old training partner, John Price, used to always remind me, “An athlete is only as good as the weakest link.” The get-up is a different movement after a trip over ten time zones. The get-up is a different movement the day after an American football game.

But, a few minutes of intelligent corrective work, and tuning the body, allows us to get back into the game.

Stu McGill, the famous Canadian back specialist, offers trainers and coaches a challenge for every workout and program: after the exercises and rep scheme, write a column to explain why each exercise and rep is included.

When it is not included in a workout, we should ask why the get-up is NOT there.

***

Master RKC, Dan John is the author of numerous fitness titles including the best selling Never Let Go and Easy Strength. Dan has spent his life with one foot in the world of lifting and throwing, and the other foot in academia. An All-American discus thrower, Dan has also competed at the highest levels of Olympic lifting, Highland Games and the Weight Pentathlon, an event in which he holds the American record.

Dan spends his work life blending weekly workshops and lectures with full-time writing, and is also an online religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri. As a Fulbright Scholar, he toured the Middle East exploring the foundations of religious education systems. For more information visit DanJohn.net

How to Run Injury Free Using Kettlebells

By 2 Comments

William Sturgeon running and kettlebell training

Let’s clear this up right now, strength training and running go together, it’s not one or the other. Most runners avoid strength training for fear of being bulky, or because they’re afraid it will decrease their run time. Runners need to understand that strength training can improve their run time and increase their work capacity. If that’s not convincing, then consider that runners are prone to injuries such as patellofemoral pain syndrome, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, as well as hip, low back, and shoulder pain. Quite an extensive list. We can prevent these issues by introducing kettlebells into our training.

Why Kettlebells?

The kettlebell is the Swiss Army knife of fitness—you can train for strength, conditioning, mobility, power, etc. with just one tool. A tool that serves multiple purposes is great if you have limited time or not enough space for bigger equipment like barbells or racks of dumbbells. Kettlebells give you the ability to exert a maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive power burst. Using exercises like the kettlebell swing or kettlebell snatch will train you to build a lot of power. The amount of tension, speed, and force needed to complete a swing or a snatch is very high, and the benefits carry over into the production of power. Kettlebell exercises have been known to help athletes improve their performance by increasing their power output—this also allows runners to excel in their races.

When training with kettlebells, we are often barefoot or wear minimalistic shoes. At my facility Restored Strength, we highly recommend that our members do not wear shoes. We are in shoes all of the time, and wearing shoes while training puts the foot in a plantar flexed position because the heal is elevated. Because of compression from the shoes they can also restrict the range of motion in the ankle. The freedom of being barefoot allows the ankle to have a greater range of motion. Training barefoot will also raise your kinesthetic awareness by allowing the proprioceptors in the foot to have greater exposure. The benefits can transfer over to your running, when you are not constricted by your shoes.

William Sturgeon Kettlebell Swings

Why Strength Training Can Prevent Injuries

The RKC is well known for being The School of Strength. We promote the importance of strength in a purposeful manner. While strength training has many applications, let’s discuss why it is essential to be a strong runner. When you begin to introduce strength training into your program, you get physically stronger and there’s a physiological aspect as well. Strength training promotes greater bone density which reduces the likelihood of hair line fractures. You will also strengthen the ligaments, tendons, and muscles—which hold and secure joints in proper alignments. If you are not strength training, the certain areas in the body will become weak. Being weak is dangerous since weak muscles and bones are fragile and susceptible to injuries.

Strength training can increase your muscular work capacity, which can improve your running technique. You’re less likely to fatigue, and when your muscles are stronger, you can maintain proper mechanics for longer periods of time. Stronger muscles will decrease the likelihood of fatigue during a race, and strength training helps increase the type 2 (fast twitch) muscle fibers. Focusing on the big five major muscle groups—knees, hamstrings, glutes, trunk, back—used when running will make strength training less daunting.

What to Train

Glutes: The glutes are the key muscle group in the mechanics of running. The gluteus medius will be the main focus, as this muscle is the rotator cuff of the lower body. When you move, it’s the first muscle to quickly contract, and it stabilizes your body when you are on one leg. Running is a unilateral activity—a single leg is in motion—which is why it’s crucial to strengthen and stabilize the gluteus medius in unilateral exercises.

Hamstrings: These bad boys strengthen your lower back. When they contract, they flex the knees, the repetitive motion in running. Your heel should reach your glutes during the back-swing motion, this allows for greater power output when running. With stronger hamstrings, you will be able to produce greater force output when running. Having strong hamstrings will complement your glutes—the two together will prevent low back pain and allow your running to be less strenuous on the posterior chain.

Quadriceps: Runners usually have overdeveloped quadriceps, but it is still worthwhile to train them. The quadriceps are responsible for two major movements in running, knee extension and hip flexion. These actions cause the leg to swing forward when running. The insertion of the quadriceps is located on the tibial tuberosity, the boney projection below the knee. Having stronger quadriceps will assist in maintaining knee position. One muscle of the quadriceps, the vastus medialis, helps stabilize the patella and the knee joints when we run.

Trunk: The trunk is a fancy word for abdominals. The trunk maintains your posture and keeps you upright. When we run, we want to maintain a tall posture and make sure that we are as tall as we can get, allowing us to have a greater range of motion through the hips. We won’t be able to maintain that tall position while running with a weak trunk. Strengthening the abdominals will allow for greater stability. Stronger abdominals also reduce the wobbly feeling when running. If you are wobbling from side to side when you run, then you have an energy leak slowing you down.

Back: The back is the last key player for strong running. Like the trunk, the back has the same role of keeping your body upright. Having a stronger back will help retract the shoulder blades, which prevents the shoulders from rolling forward. Good posture carries over to proper mechanics when running. If you find it difficult to maintain your posture, then you will need to improve your back strength. A strong back can prevent energy leaks through the upper body, and make sure you’re carrying your arms in an optimal way while running. A strong spine complemented by strong mid and lower backs will stabilize the spine and the pelvis.

How to Train

When we train, we want to train movements rather than muscles. The big movements are lower body pushing and pulling, upper body pushing and pulling (vertical and horizontal), trunk work, carries, and unilateral upper and lower body movements. I make mobility training a staple in my programming as well. It is a mixture of movement and strength—you need to be mobile to be strong and you need to be strong to be mobile.

In my opinion, the push/pull upper body/lower body approach is the most optimal way to train. It conserves time and targets every area. Using this type of training will also reduce the amount of training sessions each week. I recommend two to four days each week, depending on your training.

Training day example:
Kettlebell Running Training Day Chart

Conclusion

Strength training can undoubtedly improve your run time and prevent injuries if done correctly. There are many different modalities of training, and kettlebells have been the most useful for me. To help your athletic performance, make sure to include kettlebell training in your program. If you are unfamiliar with kettlebell training, find yourself a certified RKC instructor to take your training further.

****

William Sturgeon, RKC II trains clients at his gym, Restored Strength. Contact him through his website at RestoredStrength.com or follow him on Facebook: facebook.com/restoredstrength

Warm Up and Cool Down Flow

By 10 Comments

Senior RKC Paul Britt

How do you warm up for training? Is there a flow and/or pattern to it? How about the cool down afterwards? I like to consider economy of movement in my warm-ups because it tends to speed up my prep and my cool down. I want the warm-up to systematically prepare me for the session ahead—and I have designed it to work on my mobility and stability issues. In our modern society, we all seem to have similar thoracic restrictions, core stability, active straight leg raise restriction, and toe touch difficulties.

I perform the warm-up in a circuit for one or two sets. Even though one set is typically enough, if I am not warmed up appropriately when I get to the end of the first set, I will add a second. I want to make sure that nothing is left out of my full-body warm-up. The same goes for the cool down—I want to make sure that I hit all my issues that need work. I use this particular flow because my issues are thoracic mobility restriction, ankle mobility. Since I am sitting a lot in class, those are the areas where I concentrate at the start and finish of my workout session.

I start my warm-up with a minute or two on the foam roller. If you have to spend a lot of time on your foam roller or if you’ve named it, get checked out by a professional of some type. I really do a quick run through with it to scan and work through any major trigger points. After the roller, it is time to start moving and warming up.

Perform the following in a circuit:

  • Tall kneeling halo x 10 each way with a light kettlebell
  • 1 RKC armbar on each side
  • Bretzel left and right
  • Pump stretch x 10
  • 1 Get-up on each side
  • 5 Prying goblet squats with same weight as the Halo

After one or two times through my warm-up circuit, I perform five kettlebell deadlifts. I stand up and reset on each lift to perfectly set the groove. In general with my warm-up, everything starts on the ground and moves upward. It is easy to transition from tall kneeling to lying to the deadlifts at the end. It tends to flow well for me.

My cool down follows the same progression, and also moves from the ground up:

  • Supine piriformis stretch, 10 seconds left and right
  • Bretzel left and right
  • Shin box stretch (video)
  • Heel sit stretch
  • Child pose
  • Frog stretch
  • RKC hip flexor stretch
  • Hip flexor stretch with a twist
  • Elongated hip flexor stretch
  • Standing hamstring stretch
  • Cossack stretch
  • Shoulder stretch left and right
  • Pull-up bar hang

Just like the warm-up, I like to move in a flow from the ground up. I did not specify any particular reps for the cool down, instead I typically use my breath to move through the stretches. I find that 3-5 diaphragmatic breaths will safely move me to the edge of my range of motion. I designed the warm-up and the cool down to flow from one position to the next with economy, this makes it faster than if I just did random stretches and warm-ups. Find out the issues you need to address and create a flow that allows you to move smoothly and quickly through the series.

If you are pinched for time, for a workout you could actually load the get-up and squat with a kettlebell and move through the circuit several times. You will benefit from the mobility work and build strength on an open frame. But only load those two exercises in the series. The kettlebell halo and RKC armbar are not strength exercises, they are movement prep and mobility/stability work, so a heavy load is not appropriate or safe.

 

***

Senior RKC Paul Britt has been an RKC kettlebell instructor since 2006. Paul trains people at workshops and privately. Paul is currently attending Parker University working on his Doctor of Chiropractic degree 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 Chiropractors in North Texas. Please visit his website for more information or to contact him

Naked Swings

By 4 Comments

Jay Armstrong, Senior RKC Seesaw Press

Two years ago I woke up one morning and fell out of bed. I could not stand up. My right leg was in extreme pain and it felt like there was high voltage electricity running through it. A nerve in my back had been pinched by my vertebrae. I spent a week in the hospital on morphine while they ran tests. (Okay I think it was a week). Eventually, they did minimally invasive surgery to relieve the pressure on the nerve. Then, I began the slow rehabilitation process…

I went for a follow up visit with the surgeon. He told me, “There are two types of patients. The first type will use this sort of pain event and back surgery as an excuse. They will be afraid, they won’t work on regaining their movement abilities and they will never fully recover. You are probably the second type. You are the kind of person who will try to do too much too quickly and will soon have a relapse.” His advice to me was to be very careful.

Naked Swings
Naked Swings

I wanted a speedy recovery but I certainly did not want to go through this again. I realized two important things:

  1. I must move if I wanted to regain my former movement skills and rehabilitate the lost abilities. (Yes, it was bad. After surgery, I was unable to get up off the floor without using my arms for assistance.)
  2. I must pace my recovery so that I maximized my progress and minimized the risk of injury.

I run a place called The Kettlebell Club in Houston, Texas and I teach regular group classes there. I wanted to get back to swinging the kettlebell as soon as possible but also wanted to heed the surgeon’s warning. So, as soon as I possibly could, I began practicing naked swings – lots of them.

In workshops, classes and demonstrations I had often shown students the various aspects of the kettlebell swing without a weight. But, I had not performed many repetitions of kettlebell swings without a kettlebell. When I began religiously practicing naked swings I immediately realized that I had found a real jewel. The speed of your kettlebell swing is fixed when you have a kettlebell in your hand. But, without a kettlebell, you can perform the swing motion at a variety of speeds from very slow to very fast. You will improve the way you use your respiration to support the swinging motion. You can even pause at various points in the swing to check your posture or the activation of specific muscles. (Clearly, posture and spinal stabilization were a key focus for me.)

Top of Swing Position
Top of Swing Position

The top part of the kettlebell swing is a demonstration of ideal posture and spinal alignment. On each repetition, lengthen your spine, insure your thoracic spine is open, your head is over your shoulders, and your pelvis is in a neutral position (or slightly tucked).

The bottom part of the kettlebell swing is essentially the set up for a deadlift except that your hands have moved between your legs, behind your knees and lined up with your spine. Being able to spend time at the bottom of the kettlebell swing (since the kettlebell doesn’t force you to continue the movement) allows you to fine tune this position. You should feel a good loading of the posterior chain (i.e., glutes, hamstrings, back muscles, etc.) In addition, insure that your shoulders are well connected to your body while in this position.

Bottom of Swing Position
Bottom of Swing Position

The naked swing will also help your understanding of the transitions from top to bottom and from bottom to top. Without the kettlebell dictating the speed of the movement, you can maintain your erect posture while your hands slowly (and safely) move downward before you begin your hip hinge movement.

I credit the thousands of reps of naked swings with accelerating my recovery and in a virtually risk-free manner. In addition, this work significantly improved my understanding of the mechanics of the kettlebell swing and gave me an excellent, new teaching tool.

***

Jay Armstrong is a Senior RKC, 6 Degree Black Belt TKD, and Master Z-Health Trainer.  The past 30 years have been dedicated to helping others develop confidence through increased strength and pain-free, exceptional mobility.  His quest for knowledge continues.  He runs The Kettlebell Club in Houston, Texas.

Do You Even Stretch, Bro?

By 6 Comments

Paul Britt Hip Flexor Stretches RKC Blog

We all tend to have a set routine that we use as a warmup for our training. There are articles galore on the RKC Blog about those, even some that I have written. What do you do after you are through with your training session? Many people throw in a few random stretches and are done. I like to have a plan and a process in most of my sessions.

This particular series is one that I use quite often. It helps deal with the position of daily living that the majority of people in modern society participate in: sitting. Our bodies tend to want to be lazy and expend as little energy as it can get away with. As we sit all day, the body figures out that it can contract and shorten the hip flexors as a way to save energy and be lazy. But, what do we need to be strong, prevent back injury and get the most out of our training? Healthy, flexible and fully functioning hip flexors. Your movement prep should be used to prep the trouble areas for movement. On top of that, kettlebells and Convict Conditioning training helps strengthen and correct the muscular imbalance/tightness that we are working to improve.

But how do you get our increased flexibility and lengthening to stick? In the video below is a series that I use after kettlebell training to maintain the improvements gained in the training session. It also helps prevent the muscles from returning to the contracted position.

The series is pretty basic and easy, but it stretches the hip flexors effectively. It starts with the basic RKC Hip Flexor stretch. The stretch is much shorter in movement than a typical hip stretch, as we are really focusing on the hip flexor and rectus femoris. Do not over extend this stretch, as you can damage the hip capsule and associated ligaments. The next stretch is similar except that you rotate the rear hip and rotate the front leg, but maintain the squared off posture in the upper body. This is a little different stretch in that you feel it through the obliques and possibly as far up as the anterior serratus muscles. The last stretch is the extended hip stretch. I utilize breath to sink deeper into it. At the end of the stretch, you let the back leg rest on the floor and pull yourself forward slightly as you feel the stretch on the back thigh.

As with any stretching, if there is pain, back off and do not push through it. Do not hurry, and use your breath to allow the stretch to happen easily.

***

Senior RKC Paul Britt has been an RKC kettlebell instructor since 2006. Paul trains people at workshops and privately. Paul is currently attending Parker University working on his Doctor of Chiropractic degree 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 Chiropractors in North Texas. Please visit his website for more information or to contact him

Get Rid of Nagging Back Pain and Build Abs of Steel

By 6 Comments

kettlebell drill for back pain Laurel Blackburn

The most common complaint I hear from my clients is back pain. Just Google “back pain” and you’ll end up with over a million hits.

As a personal trainer, I know that also means there’s a huge population out there that can benefit from my expertise. From a business perspective, that also means building my client base and increasing my business.

But, before you dive into marketing to people suffering from back pain, let’s look at a few important points, and by important, I mean, IMPORTANT.

I am not a physician, physical therapist, chiropractor or other medical provider. I can’t diagnose problems. If you are not a medical provider, you shouldn’t either.

If a client comes to you with back pain or any type of pain, your safest bet is to refer them out to a trusted professional. I have aligned myself with the best chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist and dietitian in my area. If I’m ever in doubt, I refer them out.

Now, assuming my client has been medically cleared and has no restrictions, I can get to work.

The drills I demonstrate in the video below came from trial and error and by combining concepts learned from my RKC, and RKC-II certifications, CK-FMS and Z-Health.

I was totally surprised that most of the time, my clients experienced immediate pain relief. If they then spent several weeks of dedicated time doing the drills, the pain was gone.

Although I have many success stories from using these drills, my favorite is my client, Karen.

Karen is in her mid-50s and suffered from chronic back pain. She tried everything from acupuncture, massage, chiropractors and even surgery but never got long-term relief.

We began with simple back presses using a wedge—because lying on the ground was too painful when we started. We also did the back presses and the pelvic glides while standing. After several weeks, we were able to start doing them on the floor.

Once her pain subsided, we added kettlebell deadlifts, swings and get-ups. It wasn’t long before she was able to start running; something she never thought she would be able to do again.

I knew I was on the right track when her son—then was a chiropractic student—came to watch one of our sessions. He told me that if everyone did these drills and deadlifts, then he wouldn’t have a lot of patients.

Although the little combo in the video below is not the only answer to relieving back pain, I find it’s a great place to start. If nothing else, your clients will end up with better posture, better movement, and a bulletproof core.

For beginners who have been cleared:

  • 5 back presses using a thick towel as a tactile cue under the small of their back.
  • 10 pelvic glides

Repeat 3-5 times.

This combination can be done before getting out of bed in the morning and in bed before going to sleep.

Once the back presses become stronger (use your hand/arm to test) then add resistance:

Place a light kettlebell overhead and cue them to press their lower back to the floor and pull the kettlebell to mid-chest with straight arms. The back must stay pressed through the entire range of motion.

  • 5 back press with pullovers
  • 10 pelvic glides

Repeat 3-5 times.

In the video below, you will see the option of additional triceps extensions along with isometric contractions.

Try these as movement prep prior to training. These drills/exercises are also great in group classes.

****

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, Laurel 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.

A Superset Series for Shoulder Mobility

By 3 Comments

Paul Britt Kettlebell RKC Arm Bar

I’ve screened many people with the Functional Movement Screen. In conducting all of those screens, I’ve observed typical patterns, one of which tends to be shoulder mobility issues. While this post is not a treatment plan or medical advice, it is the quick shoulder mobility series I use after the initial individual work and correctives. It’s a great way to open up thoracic and shoulder mobility after a long day of sitting or just living in today’s world.

I have my students perform the series as a superset. They move from one exercise to the next without a break. I typically have them perform the series three times. It’s a great mobility set and general warm-up for the session ahead.

We start with the RKC armbar. Use an appropriate weight for the movement. What is appropriate? I typically use a 14kg for the series as it is a warm-up / mobility drill and not strength focused. There are several versions of the RKC armbar, but I tend to have my knee bent at 90 degrees to keep my lumbar spine out of the exercise. This also focuses the exercise on the mid-thoracic area instead of rolling your hips into the ground. I like to take 3-5 breaths per side before moving on to the next drill.

Paul Britt's 67-year-old client practices the RKC armbar
Paul Britt’s 67-year-old client practices the RKC armbar

The next stop is the bretzel stretch. I rest my head on a roller or another padded surface to keep my neck free of tension so I can focus on the movement. I breathe to move through the stretch: I breath in, tighten up, then relax and exhale as I move deeper into the stretch. I typically practice for 3-5 breaths per side to move through the stretch.

Paul Britt Bretzel

The last move in the set is the kettlebell halo. Since this is still a mobility exercise and not a strength move, I keep the weight at 14kg. I like the half kneeling position as it also helps to teach the body how to be stable. You can also do the halo standing if your knees prevent you from kneeling. While I did not demonstrate it in the video below, you can also use half kneeling to develop stability. I perform ten halos in one direction and ten in the other.

Paul Britt Kettlebell Halo

After a 30 second rest, I begin the series again.

If you have shoulder pain, do not perform any of these exercises without medical evaluation. I also highly recommend that you see an FMS practitioner for screening to address any and all movement issues.

***
Senior RKC 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 Chiropractors in North Texas. Please visit his website brittstrainingsystems.com for more information.