RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

Workout of the Week

Kettlebell Training, the Secret to an All American Distance Runner’s Success

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Carleen Jeffers Running Track

Over the past 22 months, Carleen Jeffers has amassed an incredible amount of championships—and has set distance running high school and county records that were previously unbroken for decades. Brown University bound, Jeffers didn’t even consider long distance running until the summer of 2013. But in the fall of that same year, she earned the honor of First Team All County for Cross Country in the incredibly competitive county of Bergen, NJ—population, one million. During her first season, she went from not running track to First Team All County! Some top-shelf athletes train their whole lives and never achieve that level of success in our county. Prior to running, Carleen played softball, trained in the martial arts for many years, and began swinging kettlebells about a year before track.

Many distance runners don’t like the idea of resistance training, but they need strength! While bodybuilding routines or powerlifting will usually be counter-productive, kettlebells and bodyweight training can also provide relief from the repetitive movements of running. Tendons and ligaments will also become stronger which can prevent injuries and/or lessen their severity. Diaphragm strength also increases, and will supply the muscles with more oxygen. The body will process lactic acid more efficiently, allowing an athlete to have a stronger kick at the end of a race. Becoming stronger also has psychological advantages. Obviously, kettlebell and bodyweight training makes a lot of sense for runners.

Even during her highest mileage training of more than 60 miles a week, Carleen was able to maintain her muscle mass and avoid injury. While teammates suffered from stress fractures, shin splits and other common overuse injuries, her season was uninterrupted.

Carleen Jeffers With Kettlebell

She completed her senior year by placing 4th in the New Balance National High School track meet on June 19th, 2015, earning her High School All American status. Her performance of 16.58 in the 5K smashed both the former Bergen County and Ridgewood High School records and earned her Track Athlete of the Year for Northern New Jersey. That’s quite a few accomplishments for an athlete in a sport for only 22 months.

Carleen’s coach, Jacob C. Brown, of Ridgewood High School, is a coaching legend in the world of women’s track. He’s coached more champions and championship teams than virtually any other coach in the state of New Jersey. He advised her to keep training with kettlebells while she is in college—even if the college strength program doesn’t call for it. Coach Brown and I agree that that Carleen’s kettlebell training was the major differentiator in her success as a runner.

How did a 97 pound, 5’ 4” high school distance runner quickly achieve such a high level of success? Normally in track and field, athletes rarely improve from one contest to another, especially at higher levels of competition. The goal is to stay healthy while peaking for the States, Nationals or Worlds.

Carleen Jeffers Trail Running

Many runners—along with many in the general population—have rounded shoulders and poor thoracic mobility. And this situation is acerbated by the form these athletes adopt while running. Instead, they need to open up their chests to expand their lung capacity and increase blood flow.

The following are examples of Carleen’s training with kettlebells as a track athlete. We generally cycle our weekly training.

Warm-Up and Mobility:
Each session includes a warm up of jumping rope for 3-5 minutes, and a mobility sequence. The mobility portion includes six posterior chain and shoulder mobility exercises performed with a bo staff or dowel, armbars, thoracic bridges, deck squats or some other squat, hip opening movements, zombie rolls, and push-ups, to name a few. We also employed crawling movements along with quad and hamstring stretching.

Power Days:
Heavy lifting with sets of 5 to 10 reps. We have Power Days within three or more days before an event. If it’s a major event, we’ll leave a week between power sessions. These sessions include heavy swings, sumo squats, double kettlebell squats and heavy presses, bottoms-up presses, heavy get-ups, floor presses, heavy rows, kettlebell carries, and complexes. We also perform low rep plyometric versions of some of these movements.

Endurance Days:
Endurance days include chains with 30 to 40 reps, and weighted plyometrics of 10 to 20 reps per set. With kettlebells, we perform walking figure-8 lunges, walking swings, over-speed eccentric swings, ladders, and VO2Max snatch workouts. If we don’t do a VO2Max workout, we’ll end with “6 Minutes of Hell” or 5 minutes of kettlebell snatches (similar to part of the RKC Workshop testing requirements).

An example of a “6 Minutes of Hell” variation: Perform a clean, press, and a squat as a chain for one minute on one side, then change to the other side for the next minute. Repeat this for 6 minutes.

After an endurance day, we would make sure to have at least two days of rest before an event. Sometimes we might do an endurance day workout the day before an event, but with reduced weights, so the athletes would not be too sore to compete. However, we wouldn’t have an endurance day before a big meet.

PowerDure Days:
A good 40 to 50% of our weekly workouts are based on the PowerDure method. We perform the first half of the workout using mid-range power sets. We’ll do 3 to 4 sets of a mobility exercise along with an upper body push and pull, and lower body push and pull. 8 to 10 reps per set. Sometimes unilateral, other times bilateral.

In PowerDure, grinds are our primary focus. The second half of the session is dedicated to muscular endurance, while maintaining our bracing and the lock and pop of our ballistic movements. We focus on chains and circuits using workouts like our “Warrior’s Challenge”, “Scrambled Eggs” (see example below), and Tabatas. Heart rates are high and so is the sweat production! Afterwards, we cool down with mobility and flexibility training. I have a pool of several hundred workouts in the PowerDure category.

Bodyweight Days: These are performed once a week, especially close to the meets and sometimes the day before. We will either train with low reps (1 to 5) for strength or we will use timed circuits, moving from one exercise to the next while trying to hit 80% of our max reps. Generally, our bodyweight circuits are timed at 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off. We usually do 9 exercises for 5 rotations. During strength (low rep) days, we’ll challenge ourselves with the most difficult exercises. On bodyweight days, we always revert to regressions when the reps of the more difficult movements are no longer achievable. I find the bodyweight-only days round out the training since bodyweight exercises also improve balance and overall coordination.

Bergen County Track Stars 2014
Bergen County Track Stars

Example PowerDure workout with an intermediate variation of “Scrambled Eggs”

Our “Scrambled Eggs” circuit requires anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes to complete prior to the 1 minute rest between sets. There is no rest between the exercises, only one minute rest at the end of each set. This type of training prepares the body to deal with the lactic acid produced during sports or other strenuous activities.

Circuit 1: 2 sets

  • Two-hand kettlebell swings: 50 reps
  • Armbars: 10 each side
  • Side Press: 10 each side

Scrambled Eggs (1 kettlebell): 3 sets

  • Two-hand swings: 20 reps
  • Hand-to-hand swing: 10 reps each side
  • Snatches: 10 each side
  • High pulls: 10 each side
  • Swing squats: 10 reps
  • Waiter press: 5 each side
  • Single-leg deadlift: 5 reps each side
  • Bottoms-up press: 5 reps each side
  • One minute of rest

 

Strength and Honor!
Coach Phil

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For more information on Master RKC Phil Ross’s strength and conditioning programs, videos (including The Kettlebell Workout Library), and workshops, please visit www.philross.com. Coach Jacob Brown’s website is available at jacobbrown.com. View Carleen Jeffers’ MileSplit profile.

The Single Rep Dead Stop Swing, Clean, Snatch Workout

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Master RKC Andrea Du Cane and Senior RKC Timothy Spencer Demonstrate the RKC Arm Bar

As I travel around teaching HKC and RKC workshops, I notice a common problem (theme – challenge), the sloppy start/stop of a kettlebell ballistic lift.

Imagine this scenario: someone is getting set up to swing; it doesn’t matter if it’s 2-handed, single arm or double. They stand over the kettlebell, lift it up, and rock it back a couple of times between their legs and THEN swing it back far enough to load their hips and explode up.

What’s wrong with this picture? The set-up was not correct. It was not focused or properly executed. There must be an intention and preparation before the start of the pull—before anything happens.

I like to say in regards to all kettlebell lifts, “You’re only as good as your set-up”.

Here is the correct way to start a swing (clean or snatch):

  • Place the kettlebell a foot or two in front of you.
  • Bend forward and grab the kettlebell handle.
  • Pull the kettlebell slightly toward you, while engaging your lats.
  • Set your weight way back on your heels, while keeping your feet planted & spine neutral.
  • “Hike” the kettlebell back behind you—fast.
  • Explode your hips forward and feet down into the ground. Let your arms be propelled forward by the force of the hips.

That’s it. Simple. No lifting the kettlebell up and rocking it a couple of times before hiking it back and exploding up. One crisp explosive hike pass and forward movement is all it takes!

This is the same for ALL the kettlebell dynamic lifts; including double kettlebell swings and cleans.

Scenario #2: someone has just finished a great set of swings, but on the last rep they fall forward while rounding their back and then dropping the bell down in front of them.  They nearly topple forward.

No further explanation is needed here, this is simply dangerous. The most common time for an injury to occur during any kettlebell exercise is on the last rep or while the kettlebell is being set down.

In both cases—the first rep or the last rep of a set—the lack of focus, intention and safety is to blame.

The answer to this problem is to training your single-rep or dead-stop swings. In essence that is what the single-rep is: the start and end of a swing, clean or snatch.

Programming single-rep sets is an easy way to reinforce good technique throughout a set of any ballistic lift.

The truth is, they are HARDER than continuous reps because you lose the assistance of gravity during the backswing. With single-rep workouts, each rep is initiated by the power of the lifter. The hips and lats have to work that much harder to generate the force to project the kettlebell up. Hence, an additional bonus is increased force production and explosive power. So this type of training is perfect for any athlete.

You can also modify single-rep workouts for any level kettlebell lifter.

Single-rep 2-handed swings are a progression to learning continuous swings, but for the advanced lifter, doing single rep heavy cleans or snatches or double swings and cleans, puts the burn in your butt!

Here are some workout examples (note: “SR” stands for Single Rep):

Beginner:

SR-Swings:   2-handed for 5 reps

Continuous:   2-handed for 10 reps

Repeat as long as you wish

OR use timed sets for 25-30 seconds of work to equal rest

 

Intermediate: (proficient with cleans and snatches)

SR-Swings 1-arm   5-10 reps left/right

Continuous 1-arm   10 reps left/right

SR- Cleans 1-arm   5-10 reps left/right

Continuous 1-arm   10 reps left/right

Repeat as long as desired or timed sets

 

2nd workout

SR-Swings 1-arm   5-10 left/right

SR- Cleans 1-arm   5-10 left/right

SR-Snatch 1-arm   5-10 left/right

Repeat as long as desired or timed sets

 

Advanced

SR-double swings   5-10 reps

SR-double cleans   5-10 reps

Repeat as desired or timed sets

***

Andrea Du Cane is a Master RKC Kettlebell Instructor, CK-FMS, CICS, and RIST, ZHealth certified, she has a BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota and is also a Pilates instructor. She is the author of several books and dvds including The Ageless Body, The Kettlebell Boomer, and The Kettlebell Goddess Workout.  She has over twenty years of aerobics, weight training and fitness experience, with an additional background in… Read more here.

The Best and Simplest One Kettlebell Workout

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Max Shank Single Kettlebell Workout

With the following single kettlebell workout, you can work on all your strength movements in one session with 2-6 sets of 3-8 reps. Each movement provides an adequate amount of rest for the next item in the superset. The finisher, which consists of swings and planks or pushups is a great way to add some cardiovascular work as well as some extra core/arm training.

Superset the exercises below for 2-6 rounds:

Press (up to 80% effort)
Row (up to 80% effort)
Squat (front squat or goblet squat)

Then perform kettlebell swings and planks (or pushups) for 2-5 sets

Together, this workout covers all the main strength movement categories:
Upper Push (press and/or pushups)
Upper Pull (rows)
Lower Push (squats)
Lower Pull (swings)

Part of the reason that programs generally work well is that they provide workouts which are already designed for you. If you struggle to think of what you should do at the gym, you’re less likely to do as much work–or any at all! It’s very helpful to at least have a go-to workout in your collection.

Another great thing about the workout listed above is that you’ll probably want to do more reps of rows than presses anyway. This often happens because  most of us can row with more weight than we can press. In other words, you’ll likely press the same kettlebell 5 times and then row it for 8-10 reps with the same weight (which will put both exercises at 80% of your effort). That’s a good thing!

Finally, this takes very little time–I was recently able to do 3 rounds of each part in about 12 minutes.

It’s so simple that it almost seems too silly to work, but it does–and it covers all of your bases regardless of which kettlebell you use. For example, if you choose a kettlebell that you can press once, the workout might look like this:

Press x 1
Row x 5
Squat x 6
Or whatever rep range is within your 80% effort.

It’s beautifully simple, and it can really remove some potential barriers to training consistently–you can do a version of this workout anywhere in a very short amount of time.

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

The Sweaty Beast Workout

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Beth Andrews Senior RKC

I live for a great workout. Do you? This is one of my favorite workouts and it’s a hit with my students as well. I thought I would share some of the kettlebell love and sweat with you. This workout is challenging, fun, will leave you in a pool of sweat and feeling like a beast when you’re done.

You can take this workout and grow with it by challenging yourself with heavier weight. I would first suggest you complete it with a kettlebell that’s your snatch test weight. When you can successfully do that, you can advance to the next size kettlebell.  🙂

Most people are familiar with the snatch and goblet squat, but are unfamiliar with the one arm chest press. Here are a few things to remember when performing the one arm chest press, a few options for the workout, a quick video tutorial and a demo sample of the workout.

1.There are many different ways to do the one arm chest press. My preference is to perform it with both legs down and both arms off of the floor, in the video below. This variation requires more body control/core stability. If you can’t keep your low back flat and your bum tight, bring one or both knees up. I prefer both knees up or both down.  Please option it out if needed. See pictures below.

Beth Andrews Chest Press Legs Up option
Yes! Legs up, bum tight, low back on floor.
BethAndrews Chest Press Legs Down Option
YES! Legs down, bum tight, low back on floor.
belly button up to chin. This will help bring low back to the floor.
No! We want to prevent arching the low back.
Focusing on squeezing the glutes and pulling
belly button up to chin. This will help bring low back to the floor.

2. It can be challenging to chest press with your snatch test weight. No worries, just drop down to a lighter weight for that exercise.

3. You have 25 min to complete the workout. This workout is not about beating the clock, the timing is to keep you focused. It is all about good form, you gain nothing by racing through and taking shortcuts with form. Finish strong, my friends!

4. There are two ways I like to mix up the reps: a 10-1 countdown on all exercises, in a circuit fashion, or stay with 5 sets of 10 reps on everything for a beastlier challenge.

Check out the One-Arm Chest Press video tutorial:
(All kettlebells in the videos below are official Dragon Door kettlebells that have been painted)

Now you’re ready to give the The Sweaty Beast Workout a try! 🙂

***

Beth Andrews is a Senior RKC, PCC Team Leader, and CK-FMS. She leads HKC and RKC certifications, and assists at the PCC. She became the 5th Iron Maiden in 2013. Beth owns Maximum Body Training and a successful online training business. She has over 25 years of training experience. For online training or to host a certification, email Beth at: bethandrewsrkc@gmail.com. For more training tips and workouts subscribe to her YouTube channel, Beth Andrews RKC or visit her website at maximumbodytraining.com

Advanced Kettlebell Workout: Forget the Snatch

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Senior RKC Beth Andrews

Are you a good snatcher? Is your kettlebell snatch effortless and smooth? If you love to snatch try this combo. Add a lunge to the snatch. Your concentration will heighten with the multiple movements. This combo will set your heart rate on fire, scorch your legs and challenge your mind. You’ll actually forget that you are snatching. Start with a light kettlebell to groove the pattern then go as heavy as you can handle.

One of my favorite workouts is to clock in for 15 min. Or my goal would be to do a 10-1 countdown of the lunge snatch and combine it with goblets squats 10-1. As always, form is more important than time or weight. Let me know how your legs feel after this workout!

IMPORTANT:
* This is an advanced combination move for both the Lunge and Snatch technique. Be aware of the hip power and extension throughout the exercise. Make sure your Lunge and Snatch form are spot on before attempting the combination exercise.
** The kettlebells used in the video are official Dragon Door kettlebells I color coded by different sizes.

Watch the video to get the finer points. Have FUN…see you on the other side…

***
Beth Andrews is a Senior RKC Instructor, PCC Team Leader, CK-FMS, and Primal Move Instructor. She became the 5th Iron Maiden in 2013. Beth is the owner of Maximum Body Training and has over 20 years of training experience. She also has a successful on-line training business. For on-line training or to host an HKC or RKC certification workshop with Beth, email her at: bethandrewsrkc@gmail.com. For training tips and workouts visit her Youtube channel or her website at http://www.maximumbodytraining.com

The 3-6-9-12 Program

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3-6-9-12 for Athletic Training

It is when you feel like you can break.

You have put everything on the line.

Heroes have been made, dreams have been dashed.

It is the fourth quarter. I remember playing basketball that time, the time when everything came down to how you prepared. How well could you execute even though you were shaky, exhausted, and had been competing your hardest for three previous quarters.

The fourth quarter is when you knew if you were really ready. All the theories get tested, only results win! You had to be strong, you had to be fit, you had to be mentally tough.

The idea of the fourth quarter helps remind me what our training should really be teaching us. Being able to hit a PR is awesome, lifting big weights, terrific, but if they can’t be used when we need them the most what is the point?

Sports aren’t the only places where we see the fourth quarter mentality. Overworked parents, stressed out jobs, they all challenge us to find inner and outer strength to perform. Can we do it though? Is it possible to have great fitness and strength?

Can We Have It All?

Having extremely high levels of strength or endurance takes some very specific training. The truth is that most of us are looking for really good levels in both. The reality is we can have it all with smarter programs.

Lifting maximal weights is awesome, but life and sport rarely happens on a platform. The truth is, most activities look at how you can repeat high levels of strength and power. In fact, renowned strength coach, Robert Dos Remedios, considers power endurance and work capacity the KEYS to athletic success:

“I’m often asked about my goals in my conditioning programming and my answer always seems to come back to one thing, WORK CAPACITY. If we can continue to turn the knob up and get more and more out of our athletes we will build their ability to keep pushing, to improve their all-important strength and power endurance. In essence we are assuring that over time, we will also be able to train harder and harder for longer periods of time with greater intensity. Perhaps most importantly, work capacity building sessions helps to forge amazing confidence…this is often the psychological variable that can be the difference between victory and defeat.”

Don’t misunderstand Coach Dos, they lift hard, they lift heavy, but they understand how to combine all the elements to being successful beyond the weight room! Can you do it over and over again? Do you have that fourth quarter strength or do you fall apart? Sorry, a few sled runs and pushes don’t do it either.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting the strength endurance crowd has it all right either. Many people think that to develop strength endurance that you simply have to perform outrageous repetitions or destructive workouts. Unfortunately, so many of these people fall prey to really low levels of strength and the engine to their endurance ends up being quite low. Not to mention the amount of overuse injuries they often incur!

The Smarter Fitness Program

When DVRT Master and RKC, Troy Anderson, shared with a much better way of training I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself! Troy is no novice to tough training, having played football, served in the military, competed in strongman, and growing up on a farm in Wyoming, Troy knows fourth quarter strength all too well.

The concept is relatively simple. Four sets, increasing repetitions, minimal rest. Well, that’s nothing new right? The structure of this program has important principles that need to be adhered to in order to succeed.

Each series has four intermittent sets of 3, 6, 9, and 12 repetitions. The lower repetitions are designated for heavier or more complex movements, where nine and twelve allow us to work on other fitness qualities. The key is to only give yourself no more than about 20 seconds from one series to the next. Let me give you a few examples using hardstyle and Ultimate Sandbag movements.

Workout 1:

Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift x 3, rest 20 seconds
Ultimate Sandbag Clean and Press x 6, rest 20 seconds
Goblet Squats x 9, rest 20 seconds
Body Rows x 12, rest 1-2 minutes

The above workout showed how we got to load a specific movement pattern (the hip hinge) with heavier loads and as we went through the series went to less complex exercises involving other movement patterns. We began with the hip hinge, moved to an vertical press, then squatting pattern, finally a horizontal pull.

The series began with the drill with the most stability when the body was freshest. That means we are still getting elements of maximal strength and not neglecting strength endurance. After the cycle rest 1-2 minutes and then try to repeat. The goal is to hit 3-4 total rounds.

How would other workouts look? Here are few examples….

Workout 2:

Pull-ups x 3, rest 20 seconds
Ultimate Sandbag Rotational Lunges x 6 per side, rest 20 seconds
Spider man Push-ups x 9, rest 20 seconds
Kettlebell Swings x 12, rest 1-2 minutes

Workout 3:

Get-ups x 3, rest 20 seconds
Ultimate Sandbag Lateral Step Cleans x 6, rest 20 seconds
Renegade Rows x 9 per side, rest 20 seconds
Bear Hug Paused Squats x 12, rest 1-2 minutes

During these workouts you should definitely try to use a challenging load. However, you are going to need to make sure you can repeat your efforts and not have too much of a drop off. For example, if you see more than a 20% drop off in weight you can use, the weight was probably too much. The same can be said if you see a 20% drop off in reps you can complete.

Can You Modify 3-6-9-12?

Of course! You can make it more specific to a training goal. For example, if you really wanted more of an emphasis of strength or power, you could make it 1-3-5-7.

Want to build that type of work capacity and power endurance that leads to championships? Take this challenge from Coach Anderson. Take your 3-6-9-12 plan and after each round (completing the entire 3-6-9-12 series) add a repetition to the next.

Example:
Round 1: 3-6-9-12
Round 2: 4-7-10-13
Round 3: 5-8-11-14

You would still take the rest after each series, but you may have to drop a bit of weight.

Will it be a challenge? Absolutely! Is it designed to destroy you? Not really. If you find it incredibly difficult you might find you had been neglecting the fitness qualities that can really help you make that next jump in your fitness.

Fatigue has been shown to be somewhat movement and muscle group specific. By changing the movement pattern we are taking some stress off the system and muscles. In other words, you should be able to continue high levels of work even in spite of some accumulating fatigue.

I know there will be some that argue that strength should be done without any fatigue, to them I say that isn’t the real world. If functional training is meant to prepare us for the sport and every day life then neither is perfect or ideal. You don’t have to sacrifice great training to grow, rather evolve the way you see fitness!

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Josh Henkin, Master RKC, CSCS has been a RKC instructor since 2003 and has implemented kettlebell programs for major Division I programs, SWAT teams, and many different general fitness programs. Josh is also the creator of the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training system where he is a highly sought after presenter worldwide. He can be reached at info@ultimatesandbagtraining.com or http://DVRTFitness.com. Josh Henkin is also the author of DVRT, The Ultimate Sandbag Training System now available in paperback and ebook format.

Stumped on Warm-ups?

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Laurel Blackburn StretchI remember being a newly minted RKC back in 2009. I couldn’t wait to get back and start training clients. I had a head full of knowledge and a heart full of pride and excitement.

One of the things that stumped me a bit was doing warm ups and movement prep for my classes. Yes, we learned some basics such as the pumps and hip flexor stretches, but after doing that class after class, I was looking for something more. Something my clients and I wouldn’t get bored with doing before every class.

As I continued with my education through Dragon Door and the RKC, I was able to add to my knowledge and my toolbox. By taking the CK-FMS in 2010, I learned about compensations for proper movement, and how to correct them. I added many of the correctives to my own movement prep/warm up as well as my classes.

I noticed that my client’s movement improved and their performance skyrocketed. The workouts that followed a good movement prep helped them perform the Kettlebell exercises with much better form. The better the form, the more they got out of our workouts.

My classes are thirty minutes and many of my personal training sessions are thirty to forty minutes, so I was looking for something that I could do with them that didn’t take a lot of time. The movement prep had to hit all of the areas that are crucial to getting the most out of their workouts. The movement prep also had to give me the most “bang for my buck” in addressing some of the most common problems I see in many of my clients such as ankle, thoracic spine mobility and proper breathing techniques.  Again, I added to my arsenal by continuing my education by taking the Primal Move certification. This certification was the final piece of the puzzle in providing my clients and myself with everything needed to address the biggest movement and mobility issues.

I took everything I’ve learned through certifications and workshops and came up with my own movement flows. They are quick and easy and my clients enjoy them.

I’ve included one of my favorites and I will be posting a lot more in the near future. I hope you enjoy this, more importantly, I hope your clients enjoy them. Let me know what you think and please let me know if you have any special cases or issues with your clients that need specific drills. Chances are I have a movement flow that will address these issues.

Have fun and get moving!

***

 Laurel Blackburn is an RKC Team Leader and owner of Boot Camp Fitness and Training and Tallahassee Kettlebells.  Look for Laurel at www.bootcampstogo.com or www.tallahasseekettlebells.com.

At 51, 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.

Top 3 Strength Exercises That Carry Over Into Other Training Areas

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sandbag carryThroughout my life I have trained for a variety of different reasons, competing in events such as team sports and endurance racing, to further my knowledge as a trainer by attending certifications such as the RKC and PCC as well as training simply to improve my own personal strength, mobility and coordination.

Quite often I like to I bite off more than I can chew, booking into and training for multiple events at the same time. As a result it is important that I follow a smart strength training program that carries over into all other areas of my training, including not only strength training but also rehab and mobility work too.

finish lineAs I look back through my years of training diaries there are three staple strength building exercises that I have always reverted to, not only for my own training but for my clients too.

The trifecta of training, as I like to call them, not only builds strength but they compliment and carry over into all other areas of training. They can be regressed or progressed, depending on your level of skill, slightly varied or coupled with other drills to ensure that I get the strength, mobility and rehab work required for me to continue training efficiently, yet are basic enough that it does not take up hours of my day to train them or severely fatigue me neurally. The trifecta are:

  • Deadlift
  • Press
  • Pull Up

Whether you are male or female, beginner or advanced, the deadlift, press and pull up, combine to form a well-rounded training template.

PastedGraphicpngA basic guideline for programming works the following – push/pull movements, legs and abdominals. The beauty of the deadlift, press and pull up is that it not only meets these guidelines but they are exercises in which the entire body is required to synchronise and utilise multiple muscle groups in order to perform these movements. This synchronisation is referred to as intermuscular coordination.

Intermuscular coordination is what we should be aiming for in training. The more synchronised your muscles are the more strength you can recruit to lift heavier weights, in order to get stronger, faster, and more explosive.

The press, pull up, and deadlift are commonly referred to as “grind” movements. This means that they are performed slowly, like a truck grinding its way up a hill in a low gear. The slow “grind” allows you time to focus on keeping your form throughout the movement while creating as much tension as possible, linking your upper and lower body together via the core, teaching it to synchronise and function efficiently as one unit.

So how do you program these exercises to get the most out of your training?

I structure my workouts in 2 different ways:

1) Warm up – mobility/stability drills; these drills should be exercises that work the mobility/stability
required for the exercises in the main set of your workout:

Armbar x 5/5

Hard rolls x 5/5

Towel toe touch x 10

TGU x 1/1

**repeat x 3

Main workout
– strength building or sport specific skills; this is where I train the deadlift OR press and pull up:

Deadlift x 5-3-2 (increase weight each time)

** repeat x 2-3 – at the start of each new round add 5kg to the starting weight. If you are using kettlebells and you started with

the 24kg start the next round with the 28kg.

Finisher – core/ballistics:

Because once your core is fatigued your session is finished.

Push press x 1-2-3-4-5

Pull up x 5-4-3-2-1

** repeat x 2-4. Complex – no rest until each ladder is complete. If you cannot do pull ups then do chin ups. If you have not yet progressed to chins then do hanging leg raises. If you cannot do hanging leg raises do knee raises….

The other method of programming I use is:

2) Mobility/stability + strength exercise – With this method I couple 2 x mobility/stability exercises with one strength exercise. This allows me to focus a little more on rehabbing specific areas of concern. It also allows me to actually feel the effect the corrective drills have on each exercise.

Armbar x 5/5

Bretzel x 5/5

Half kneeling press x 5/5

** repeat x 3

Towel toe touch x 10

Single leg deadlift x 5/5

Deadlift x 5

Hard rolls x 5/5

Hollow body hold x 30 sec (squash towel under lumbar spine to ensure hollow position is achieved)

Pull up x 3-5

Which program I use is dependent on the amount of time I have as well as the way my body is feeling at the time. If I am feeling good I go to work on structure #1. If I am lacking in time and/or am feeling a little fatigued structure #2 is my go to program.

For those of you who love to participate in a variety of sports and fitness events, get your variety from your events not your training. A solid training plan transfers to a variety of events. Remember, smart training provides a general physical foundation for all things, not just for one thing.

Happy training 🙂

Pull Ups***

Shannon Scullin is an RKC Team Leader and PCC Instructor based out of Dragon Door Australia.  As Australia’s first, and highest ranked female RKC Shannon brings a keen eye for technique to training and is renowned for being very focused on form ensuring that clients with previous injuries are able to train safely. As the head of Personal Training at Read Performance Training she uses the CK FMS to test and evaluate all clients before training, ensuring that not only will they look better from training, but they will also move better too. With a background in triathlon, adventure racing, rock climbing, cycling, hockey and running Shannon fell in love with kettlebells and the FMS system when she saw the immediate result that improving mobility, stability and strength has on sporting performance. She can be reached through: www.readpt.com

How Eric Added 75lbs to His Deadlift PR in 6 Weeks—Despite The Limitations of a Shoulder Injury

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Corey_Howard article pic

Life happens. Injuries happen. We don’t live our lives, packaged in bubble wrap.

Last year Eric told me his shoulder pain was worse. It was interfering with his sleep and daily life. He has been a client of mine for over three years and accomplished many things he never thought were possible. Originally we thought the shoulder pain was just some light inflammation and things would gradually improve. We were wrong. After a visit to the local orthopedic doctor he was advised no more pressing or overhead movements. Physical therapy and an MRI were scheduled.

So now what do we do?

Everyone has the same fear: they don’t want to take a step backwards, or start over again. Rather than dwelling on the frustration of the shoulder issue, Eric and I took a look at what he could do—deadlift. At 175lbs, his previous best pull was 275lbs for 5 reps… we set a goal of 345lbs for a double (roughly 2x his bodyweight).

We had many things to consider when planning his program. First, it had been roughly eight months since Eric had deadlifted heavy. He was used to a steady diet of kettlebell swings. Second, was his shoulder limitation. Generally, when a client has shoulder issues and they can’t press, they can still pull. Thankfully, this was the case for Eric. Third, we needed some heavy pulling, assistance work, and explosive work. Essentially, we had to prepare his body for a heavy load, while still allowing his shoulder to heal. By relying heavily on my own powerlifting background, I was able to write up a 6-week program that put us on track for our lofty goal.

Day 1 (Max Effort)

A1) Barbell Deadlift 5×5

A2) Heavy Chin-ups 5×5

B1) Moderate Barbell Squat

B2) Heavy Abs

 

Day 2 (Speed work or Dynamic Effort)

A1) Power Swings

A2) Farmer Walk

B1) Single leg opposite arm KB deadlift

B2) DB Row

C1) Single Side KB squat

C2) Sloshpipe walk with it in the rack position.

 

I designed the program like this for a reason. On day one he’d be taking his time and resting before each set so four total movements were enough. Plus, pairing heavy deads and 10-12 rep squats on the same day is taxing. The deadlift progession was set up for six weeks, starting at 225 and working up to 305 on week 5, with week 6 being a deload week, and testing on day 1 of week 7. Pull-ups were set up the same way; we started with bodyweight and finished with two 20lb chains added to his body. Eric seems to respond well to 10-12 rep squats so we paired that with hanging ab work to build lower body size, strength and stability. Day two was all about speed and bringing up weak points. We started with 10 rep power swings with a 24k, and finished with a 32k at the end of week 6. This allowed him to build speed through his pull. The farmer walks, single leg deads, rows, and single side, loaded squats allowed us to build strength in the upper back, legs and stabilizers.

So what happened? Eric pulled 345 for a double! A 70lb increase over his last PR! It needs to be stated that every single movement we did was first tested to see if it elicited pain. We trained within his capabilities, used a sensible approach, and stayed the course. What did we learn from this? First, swings absolutely rock! For a 175lb guy that hadn’t pulled heavy in over 8 months to start this program with a comfortable 225 and keep chewing through 20lb jumps each week tells me the explosive hip hinge movement will increase strength, without question! Second, we need to stop focusing on limitations and turn our sights toward what’s possible. Someone told me once, “First do what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and pretty soon you’re doing the impossible.”

 ***

Corey Howard, RKC: As the owner and founder of Results PT, Corey started the company in 2004 out of his house, with the goal of creating an energizing atmosphere that’s geared toward the client’s success.  Since 2004 his vision has grown along with the list of clients, and in 2008 he opened Sioux Falls’s first private personal training studio.  Corey has trained and helped many people lose a lot of weight, including a few people that have lost over 100lbs.  He also has experience training fitness figure competitors and pageant girls.  His clients have been featured in local and national magazine articles, appeared on television, and competed nationally.  He originally became a certified personal trainer while living in Minneapolis in 2002 and over the years has created a successful strategy and program that reaps success.  He also has experience in competitive powerlifting and loves total body kettlebell workouts that promote athleticism.  He can be reached at www.resultsptonline.com or www.coreyhoward.com

Fixing the Press

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I have to be honest, I have somewhat of a love affair with pressing weight overhead. In my early years of lifting I loved to bench press. I was pretty good at the bench press in even in high school, but it wasn’t till much later than I would find my passion for the overhead press. Part of my delay in developing my relationship with the overhead press was the fact I came into the fitness industry in the late 90’s where pressing overhead was suppose to be TERRIBLE for your shoulders. The philosophy slowly changed where it was alright to press overhead, but as long as you didn’t go below 90 degrees in the motion. Now we have come full circle where everyone wants to press everything overhead!

My own personal attachment to the overhead press began when I started to Olympic lift. Although I was quite good with the bench press, I felt darn weak in putting any weight overhead. I learned quickly that the overhead press wasn’t just a fancy name for the shoulder press, but really requires integration of the entire body. My weakness didn’t stem from a problematic upper body, but I didn’t understand how to properly utilize my body as a singular unit—really the basis of what functional training is suppose to teach us.

The fact that overhead pressing was one of the three classic ways old time strongmen measured strength (lifting from the ground and carrying weight were the other two), I felt like I was gaining a better form of strength. Not only focusing on the Olympic lifts, I began to compete in Strongman where lifting all sorts of different implements overhead required even more awareness on how the whole body is responsible for developing strength, not just a single muscle or group of muscles.

I recall having a colleague of mine who had an extensive background in Olympic lifting try to press a steel log overhead, he was greatly humbled by the great differences in just changing the implement. For some time I focused my efforts in raising my overhead press by changing the standard training variables such as load, speed, volume, and implements. Then my whole philosophy changed quite quickly.

At one point I was able to press a 40 kg kettlebell for 15 repetitions, not too shabby. However, about two years ago I noticed I could no longer even come close to pressing this weight even for 1 repetition. I was down to struggling to press a 24 kg kettlebell. Doctors found that my spinal cord was being heavily compressed by a disc in my neck. Surgery was necessary, but I was left to wondering if I would ever be able to train in the manner that was so important to me (yes, standard lifters mentality).

Right after my spinal fusion I was told that I couldn’t lift more than 20 pounds for a period of a few weeks. This would be followed by no more than 40 pounds for additional time. How does someone who is so use to lifting heavy come to terms with this limitation? I began to rethink how to train and how to get strong.

Not being able to focus on weight really threw me for a loop. How do you stress the body if you can’t just keep adding weight? The answer was in how we train the body during body weight drills. Sure, weight vests and other implements are used to stress the body, but more commonly, changing leverage in the body is used to increase the intensity of body weight training. How come we don’t do this in weight training?

That is why I started to form a series of kettlebell pressing progressions based around changing our body position that alters leverage of the weight. A lot of people actually have a leaky press. What’s a “leaky press”? They rotate and laterally bend when they press overhead. While some may argue that this is an old school method, it does reduce the carryover to other forms of overhead pressing because you can’t lean when you use most other implements in pressing overhead.

In my mind, the overhead press is just as much a great trunk stability exercise as it is an upper body exercise. The overhead press has a lot of similarities to the push-up, by learning to resist the pull of the weight to one side or the other, we actually build integrity and strength through the hips and trunk (similar to altering body position during a push-up). We can then stress the body in a two different ways with leverage and focus on trunk stability.

-Change Body Position

-Alter Pressing Motion

-Or Both!

The attached video series breaks down these ideas so you can easily integrate the right progression for your goals. You will quickly find which variation is the toughest for you and you might have to make this version your priority! Understanding these principles allows you to press almost every training session and self periodizes your training.

Try a cycle like this one:

Monday: Heavy

Military Press 5 sets of 3

Wednesday: Medium

Kneeling Double Press 3 sets of 5

Friday: Light

Half Kneeling Alternating Press 3 sets of 6 (per side)

 

***

 Josh Henkin, Senior RKC, CSCS has been a RKC instructor since 2003 and has implemented kettlebell programs for major Division I programs, SWAT teams, and many different general fitness programs. Josh is also the creator of the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training system where he is a highly sought after presenter worldwide. He can be reached at info@ultimatesandbagtraining.com or http://DVRTFitness.com

 Josh_Henkin