RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

Achieve Pain-Free Single Kettlebell Cleans From The Start

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RKC Team Leader Lori Crock's Kettlebell Cleans Tutorial

I am a coach who hates to see people in pain from doing cleans.

And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a beginner, or a more advanced kettlebell athlete, the clean can be a challenge to do as effortlessly as its kindred ballistic—the swing or even the snatch.

I speak from experience—the clean was hard for me when I was preparing for the RKC-I. It wasn’t hard with the typical thump on the wrist and forearm in the catch. No. My issue was a shoulder-hike on one side as the kettlebell made its way up … which can be even worse with the trap pain and the potential for some serious asymmetry down-the-road.

To avoid this, read on!

When you are first learning the clean, it can seem mysterious as to what the hand, arm and kettlebell are doing on the way up to the racked position. It happens so fast!

Often we see the clean only as a transitory movement that prepares us for pressing, front-squatting or doing racked carries—instead of focusing on the quality of the clean—even though we know a more efficient clean results in stronger pressing and squatting. And the clean is a nice alternative to the swing or snatch for conditioning.

You might not realize the inefficiencies in your clean if you don’t train it on its own very often—until you notice bruises on your wrist or arm the next day.

So let’s review the phases of the clean to achieve pain-free cleans. Note that the coaching cues included here are phrases I use when teaching to help people remember key points. The phrases may not exactly match the words used in our RKC manual, but they are rooted in my RKC kettlebell training.

The Swing

Get your two-hand and one-hand swing down first to set your start position, hip hinge and especially a deep back swing. Use cheat cleans (two-hand cleans) while you are learning the swing to prevent grooving bad movement patterns with your single kettlebell clean.

The Setup

Clean setup is just like the swing, holding the center of the handle, except the handle is tipped vertically for internal shoulder rotation to prepare your elbow to lock into your side once your arm moves through to the front of the body.

Coaching Cue: Set up like a slingshot.

Lean back with hamstrings on, lats activated, the kettlebell is tipped toward you—the whole body is taunt and slightly leaning back—and ready to release the kettlebell into a deep back swing.

You are in this same slingshot position each time you clean, whether from the ground or in the air into another rep. This athletic, ready position also applies to the Swing and Snatch with the handle in a horizontal position … but when learning the clean, in my experience, students need a reminder about the importance of the setup because they are more focused on the finish.

Lori Crock Kettlebell Cleans Tutorial: The Setup
The Set Up

The Back Swing

Get into your best hip hinge and hike the bell back as deep as possible to load and explode out of your hips. Shortchanging the back swing means you’ll end up without the power to send the kettlebell upward; so your body may compensate by arm curling the kettlebell or hiking the shoulder to assist the kettlebell upward.

Coaching Cue: Crush the wall behind you with your tailbone and explode up.

Go back to the swing if you are having problems achieving a deep back swing and hip explosion.

Practice: Swing-Swing-Clean 3 times each side to refine the back swing for the clean.

Lori Crock Kettlebell Cleans Tutorial: The Back Swing
The Back Swing

The Breathing

Breathe in through your nose to fill the diaphragm on the back swing. Exhale as the hips snap and knees and glutes lock.

Hardstyle breathing is used for power production and safety at the concentric or positive part of the clean (and all ballistic kettlebell movements). Exhaling when the hips snap creates a powerful muscular contraction in the torso that assists the body with the movement.

Coaching Cue: Explode, exhale.

Time your exhale on the hip snap/lock—not on the catch of the kettlebell in the racked position.

The Rise

When the kettlebell enters the front of the body there is some quick work to lock the elbow against the side of the body and get the hand around the kettlebell handle with a loose grip. Do this right away after the back swing when the hand is at hip level rather than waiting until you are about to rack the kettlebell.

Coaching Cue Elbow and Arm: Hip and zip

Lock the elbow into you side above your hip, zip up your jacket; keep you hand and arm close to your chest as you guide the kettlebell upward.

Coaching Cue Hand: Houdini hands

Move your hand quickly around the kettlebell handle as soon as it enters the frontal plane; do this quick hand work at approximately hip/waist level.

Practice: Clean in front of a wall, door, or post to practice keeping the kettlebell close to the body if you tend to cast it out away from the body. Use your other hand to cover your face in case of actual impact to the wall.

The Catch

The triangle of your forearm / upper arm will receive the kettlebell and hold it with even pressure (50% pressure on forearm and 50% on your bicep), but think of the whole body as catching the kettlebell. We move into a vertical Hardstyle plank when receiving the kettlebell to help avoid high impact on the wrist and forearm.

In the racked position, the kettlebell will not be sitting on your chest; instead, the inside of your arm will connect with at the side of your torso with a vertical forearm and vertical wrist about at the level of your collarbone. Do not hold your racked arm out in space—keep it touching the body to prevent overloading the elbow joint and to engage the lats. The arm and the body are connected and working as one unit.

Coaching Cue Torso: Catch with your cylinder of strength (Thanks, Andrea Du Cane for this phrase!)

Feel the muscular sinking in of your whole body around the kettlebell (not a collapse, but a tightening) as your abdominals and glutes contract, lats engage, knee caps roll up into quads and the entire body links and locks to receive the kettlebell in the racked position.

Coaching Cue Wrist: Knuckle up!

Because we use a loose grip on the rise of the kettlebell, beginners sometimes end up catching with a ‘broken wrist’ (wrist slightly bent back) in the racked position. To avoid this, re-tighten the grip after the catch so that knuckles are flat and facing the ceiling.

Practice: 5 Cleans left and 1 Hardstyle plank for 15 seconds / repeat right.

The Drop

Tip the wrist to release the kettlebell into a downward descent with a relaxed arm, thumb down slightly and the shoulder will be slightly internally rotated. Use only enough tension to hold on to the kettlebell and guide it to the floor or into another rep. Your hips, as usual, are doing most of the work. Keep the kettlebell as close to your body as possible, with your arm still touching your body, and finish with the arm straight in the back swing position at the end of drop before setting the kettlebell gently on the ground.

Note that death-gripping the kettlebell on the drop can lead to elbow pain.

Coaching Cue: “Waterfall” the kettlebell downward.

Allow gravity to do most of the work on the descent of the kettlebell using only a light grip.

Putting it All Together

Now you are ready to put it all together and practice your (hopefully!) pain-free cleans.

The Practice

I use the clean for conditioning in complexes and chains. I also like kettlebell chains that include a clean to practice smooth transitions between movements. This complex meets both of those goals. I use one kettlebell for all movements with 1 minute of rest between 3-5 rounds.

10 Cleans left / 10 Cleans right

SA 2 Swings-2 Cleans-2 Press left

SA 2 Swing-2 Clean-2 Press right

***
By Lori Crock, RKC Team Leader, FMS II and MovNat MCT II. Lori owns MoveStrong Kettlebells in Dublin, Ohio where she teaches small group kettlebell classes to all ages and fitness levels and continues to be amazed, inspired and educated by her students. Her email address is lori@movestrongkbs.com

The Purpose Can Change, But The RKC Principles Remain

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Aaron Pierson RKC running
RKC Team Leader, Aaron Pierson running the Bear Chase 50. Photo by the Running Guru

What does the RKC mean to you in 2015? For me it’s a new chapter. A new year is often followed by new goals. Looking ahead to 2015 I have set some pretty lofty goals which will redefine what the RKC means to me. When I was first introduced to the RKC in 2009 I was misguided into believing that strength was the only thing that matters. I was told the only way to get stronger was to stop running. At the time I was running 60-80 miles a week and looking to pass the RKC weekend. I was extremely fit but struggled to meet the strength requirements necessary. When I was told running was the one thing holding me back, I took it to heart. I eliminated the one thing I knew I could do well and began to focus solely on getting strong.  In 6 months I went from 153 pounds at my HKC to 163 pounds at my RKC and I got strong.

The next couple years following my RKC, I continued to focus on strength.  The desire to run still existed but was held back by the idea that running was bad. I went on to compete in two power lifting meets in 2013. By January of 2014 I decided it was time for a change. Focusing strictly on strength had left me tight and “out of shape”. I was heavier than I had been in years and felt terrible. Running was back on the table.

In August of 2014 I competed in my first 50 mile ultra marathon. Running has always come naturally to me and I am good at it. It was an easy decision, by that point, when it came to spending an hour in the gym or 2 hours running the mountain trails of Colorado. I was finally finding my true self again.

No matter what goal I chose to go after, the RKC was with me the entire time. From power lifting to ultra running the skills we teach at the RKC have a place. I have big plans to compete in more ultra’s, including the Leadville 100 (provided I get in) this year. Although strength will not be the primary focus of 2015, strength training will still play a major role. Without it the risk of injury increases.

The first kettlebell skills we teach during the RKC weekend are the deadlift and swing. They are probably the most important set of skills we learn. The deadlift teaches the basic hinge pattern, builds strength and grooves our swing. The kettlebell swing builds general conditioning and is the foundation for everything we do.

The purpose behind each skill may have changed but the RKC principles remain. Now, instead of using the two leg deadlift to build raw strength, the single leg deadlift is used to improve stability and reduce the injury risk. When running 80 to 100 miles a week, swings for general conditioning are no longer necessary. Instead the swing is used maintain a strong back and CORE which is essential for running ultras.

The RKC is a “School of Strength”. We teach strength as a skill which anybody can learn. This does not mean we are a “School of Strength Alone”. Being strong is not always about moving more weight. It’s being strong enough to perform the task at hand. The RKC provides the skill and the tools to be strong. It’s up to you to choose your path and determine what being strong means. So, I ask once again. What does the RKC mean to you in 2015?

***
About Aaron Pierson RKC Team Leader: Aaron has been apart of the RKC since 2010. He currently works full time as an EMT and owns Fundamental Strength in Fort Collins, Colorado. He can be reached at aaron@fundamentalstrengthllc.com or by visiting www.fundamentalstrengthllc.com

Five Things The Turkish Get-Up Teaches You About Life

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RKC Team Leader Sebastian Muller performs a TGU

Try to imagine an exercise that could make your life easier—a “magical” exercise that improves your response to everyday challenges and can make you into a better human being? Would you include it in your training?

That exercise exists, it’s the kettlebell Turkish get-up.

For more than four years, I’ve been doing heavy Turkish get-ups with kettlebells at least once a week. Besides the Hardstyle kettlebell swing, the Turkish get-up is a basic exercise in RKC kettlebell training and one of the reasons I ending up training with kettlebells.

Even though it is pure fun and constantly provides new training stimuli, over time I became aware of the other benefits of the get-up, that also apply to life in general.

  • You’ll need to be flexible and work on your weaknesses
  • You’ll learn to set up for the next step, instead of just staying put
  • The more resistance you encounter, the stronger you’ll get
  • Consistency and discipline always pay off
  • Training is life

These are all things you need to realize when working on a solid and strong Turkish get-up and these same ideas also help in everyday life.

Be Flexible and Work on Your Deficits

If you’re thinking about performing a Turkish get-up with half of your body weight, everything must fit. You need to be flexible and stable in your joints, and have the necessary strength—along with a strong will.

If one of these things is problematic, it will pay off in multitudes if you work on that deficit. Otherwise, you’ll probably plateau at some one point or weight weight sooner or later.

Two personal examples:

With Turkish get-ups, my thoracic spine mobility has always been a problem, but now it is almost perfect because I kept specifically working on it for a long time.

Another thing – when I started kettlebell training over five years ago, the English language was a big problem for me. There were practically no articles about kettlebells written in German. Even now, I almost exclusively read in English, and not just about training. Now I have completed many certifications in English and have even held entire training sessions in English. Working on these deficits paid off very well and made me a lot better.

Learn to Set Up for the Next Step Instead of Just Staying Put

Eventually, after the floor press (you’ve pushed the kettlebell overhead with your arm) you need to decide whether you want to stand up or to stay put. If you decide to get up, you have many exhausting steps ahead of you. You’ll need to get up from a prone to standing position with a kettlebell overhead making it difficult for you. There are no exits and no shortcuts.

The same is true in life. Will you stand still or take the next step forward? One thing is for sure, the more resistance you meet, the more it usually pays off if you keep going forward. This brings us to our next point…

The More Resistance You Meet, the Stronger You’ll Get

If you use a heavier weight with your Turkish get-up, you’ll get stronger. “Progressive (Capacity) Overload” are the magic words with this concept. If you keep working with the same weight all the time, you’ll get used to it, and it will no longer be a challenge. Your body won’t receive new stimuli to force it to become stronger. You strength will plateau, because there is no reason for your body to adapt to a new task.

There is some truth to the German saying, “You grow with your tasks”. When you stop facing new challenges in life, you will stop growing. Of course it’s nice and safe in your comfort zone, but that doesn’t mean you should make yourself comfortable in it.

Heavy Turkish get-ups will be mostly outside your comfort zone, and the feeling of accomplishing these challenges is awesome. It’s just the same in life!

Consistency and Discipline Always Pay Off

I want to be straight with you, to conquer a half body weight Turkish get-up won’t happen overnight. You’ll definitely need to be persistent. If you’re not afraid of that, it will eventually pay off, guaranteed! There will be days when it’ll be hard for you, and days when everything will happen easily. The most important thing is to stay persistent. The best part of all this is the journey itself—your way, your personal records, and the moment you realize the little improvements toward your goal.

Sebastian Muller Spotting Student performing a get up

A Turkish get-up with half your body weight is an absolutely realistic aim, but it doesn’t have to stop there!

While you should celebrate your small, but important achievements in training, you should also do the same thing in your life! Focus on your goal, but be aware of all the things you have already achieved on your way to get there. This is an incredibly important thing to do! Be thankful for what you have already mastered, then it will be easier to focus on the bigger goals in the future.

Training is Life

At this point, you should have realized one thing, training is life or should be at least be a regular part of it. You probably also noted that the individual components of training and life have a lot in common, and together they form a bigger picture. Just like the Turkish get-up—where all muscles need to work together as a unit and you need to consider every aspect on your way to more weight—it should be the same in your life. Take a look at the whole picture. Everything is part of your life—work, training, spending time with your family, and the time you’re on your own. If you harmonize these things, nothing in life can stop you.

The Turkish get-up taught me many things during the past few years. Today I train my body as a whole, and according to how I use it in everyday challenges. I train my body because it is a part of me and therefore a part of my life.

***

Sebastian Müller, RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor, FMS, and Primal Move Instructor, trains and instructs at the KRABA location in Wiemar, Germany. He can be contacted by email at: info@kraba-erfurt.de and his website: http://www.kraba-erfurt.de. His Blog is Vereinfachedeintraining.com

What It Takes To Be A Better Trainer In 2015

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Annie Vo Double Kettlebell Front Squat

Recently, I saw a greeting card that said, “Treat your body like it belongs to someone you care about”. What occasion was this card for? This statement couldn’t have come at a better time. For me, the holidays are a time of reflection of the year’s events, a time to debrief, reflect and begin settling plans for the next year. I began thinking of how I treat my body, and if my treatment was in accordance with the way I would treat the belonging of a loved one. Further, how do my clients treat their bodies and what role do I play in that in the gym and beyond? It is easy to fall into routines where the actions begin to lose purpose—the reasons you do what you do can begin to become a bit unclear.

Am I doing everything I can as a personal trainer, small business owner and member of the community? Are there things I can improve? What are those things? How about you, dear fitness professional colleague? Could you or your gym offer more services, programs, classes or events? How is it going? Is it easy to find you or your business? What do people think of your business? Are they having a good experience and achieving results?

Annie Vo Double Kettlebell Swing

How do you know the answers to these questions?

In short, you don’t always know, but you can begin to find out through thoughtful analysis. We often ask our clients to log their diets, workouts and activities that effect their mood or energy level (or anything else that affects their gym performance). Do you do that for your business?

Calm down! Nobody is accusing you of not trying! The question is about how you can improve. For those who immediately answered, “Yes” to the question above, I encourage you to use your superior skills and intellect to be creative and dig a bit deeper. There is always more to be learned, offered, shared and sought.

Can you take a client somewhere you haven’t been?

Take a long, hard look in the mirror. Have you made strides in improving emotionally, intellectually and spiritually…? Personal training is exactly what it sounds like—it’s personal. When a client selects you as a professional, they entrust you with their body. You must take that role seriously. Just think about it. Someone talked to you for a few minutes (ok, maybe an hour) or saw some of your pictures online and have now decided to pay you lots of money for your ideas—ideas that directly affect their body and wellbeing. First, you must be able to listen. It sounds easy but listening requires the ability to hear the words being said while interpreting them in the way that they’re intended to be understood. The information must be taken in without your personal judgments or biases. Once you have properly identified the goals and needs of your client, then you can begin the personal exchange of your services and expertise with their participation.

Most likely, what you ask your clients to do are things you also do yourself. We have all had the experience of attempting to teach something we did not fully understand—only to quickly realize we couldn’t fully explain why that exercise was valuable, or effectively troubleshoot it.

I get it, but instead of avoiding the exercises or workouts we’re not familiar with, I would ask you to do just the opposite. Learn more about those unfamiliar exercises and workouts, and become good at them. Extend yourself beyond your comfort zone to gain more experience and understanding to share with your clients.

Annie Vo Goblet Squat2014 has been good to me and my business. Precision Athlete has grown in clientele and notoriety far beyond what I could have imagined when we opened in 2011. I was also recently promoted to leadership in the first professional organization I had ever joined, the RKC. The RKC and kettlebell training solidified my career choice as a personal trainer back in 2011. I had been wavering between following the path that seemed like a natural fit at that time—becoming an attorney—versus moving more seriously into personal training. Kettlebell training in the RKC inspired a deep sense of pride in learning proper technique, understanding the mechanics of the body and providing the tools to help me excel as a fitness professional. The RKC methods and teaching styles are a mix of rigorous practice, attention to detail, proven science and a touch of class. The RKC also granted me access to the most experienced and educated trainers in the industry.

Thanks to the dedication of my clients over the years, I now have years of experience with hundreds of people. With the numerous seminars I have attended, conversations with trainers and business owners and compulsive reading, I have now become one of the RKC instructors I used to look up to. I must now give back—now more than ever, I have to refine my skills, seek more mentors and expose the gaps in my education. There is much more reading and many more conversations, seminars and training ahead…

Taking responsibility for your end of things is difficult professionally and personally. Norwegians have a verb that describes this feeling, gruegleder (pronounced “grew-glay-der”). It means to look forward to something while simultaneously dreading that same thing. This evaluation process is both rewarding and difficult because there will undoubtedly be areas where we all fall short.

So, do you treat your body like it belongs to someone you care about? Do you care about you? Do you care about caring about you? If you do, then it should be no problem to be generous and understanding with yourself about your shortcomings. It should be no problem to delight in the process of improving your skills and experience—or to take on new challenges. It will only serve to improve that thing you care about so much and support, RIGHT? If you can do that for yourself then you can extend that to your clients and your business.

Re-invest yourself in understanding why you do the things you do. Be aware of what motivates you. Be an active participant in your own life. Be credible both personally and professionally. Don’t wait until 2015 is over. Do it now.

***

Annie Vo, RKC Team Leader is co-owner of Precision Athlete, (http://precisionathlete.com) where she trains groups and individuals. She can be contacted via email: annie@precisionathlete.com, or the Precision Athlete Facebook page: facebook.com/precisionathlete.

Team RKC—Restoring Freedom, Respecting Individuality, Realizing Full Athletic Potential, Rewarding Skillful Effort

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RKC Team Spirit, Chicago 2014
RKC Team Spirit, Chicago 2014

2014 was a banner year for Dragon Door’s resurgent RKC, with 26 3-day and 28 1-day certification workshops in almost as many cities worldwide. And we already have 31 RKC workshops scheduled for 2015…

Just as significant has been the intellectual output of high-level training advice, with 19 of our RKC leadership contributing 46 information-rich blog posts, not to mention numerous fine articles for our site, over the last year.

Now the numbers are nice, but it is the soul that matters more. The ethos—the soul and spirit of the RKC—has evolved to be friendly, supportive, fun-loving, stimulating and at the same time professional. Inspirational excellence is the motto…

The beginning of a fresh new year is always a good time to remind ourselves of why we do what we do. Why choose Dragon Door and the RKC ?

Here are four reasons why:

RKC Restores Freedom

We can be second-class citizens in our bodies, shackled by poor posture, restricted in our movement, weak-jointed, slow, sluggish, low-energy and fat. Or we can enjoy the freedom of erect posture, free-flowing mobility, resilient joints, explosive power, boundless energy, functional strength and a sleek, muscular physique. RKC’s system rewards you with all of these physical freedoms in spades. It’s what we do and what we stand for.

True freedom physically takes great discipline—and a devotion to a multi-functional approach that does not divorce strength from health. RKC recognizes that need and delivers a complete program to simultaneously boost power, build strength and ensure quality movement.

Within the essential discipline of the system, RKC releases you from the tyranny of dogmatism and from an outmoded, authoritarian, faux-militaristic style of teaching. We are all adults here, as it were—and you are accorded the freedom to learn as adults.

Free body = free spirit = free to grow = free to develop…

RKC Respects Human Individuality

We, the RKC, are PEOPLE first. We are not faceless robots robbed of all personality—to be shoehorned into the rigidities of a dehumanized Brand. That path leads to a gray and soulless world where people are seen as dispensable parts of an uncaring machine. The RKC recognizes and respects the right of the individual to express himself as a complete personality—not be a voiceless pawn in someone else’s end game.

Come to an RKC or HKC and you’ll see what we mean: Soul-in-Action. The RKC instructors are passionate about helping you reach your strength and health goals. They care deeply that you succeed and they do their utmost to realize your dreams. Within the very real discipline of the RKC system, experience the warmth and care of instructors who have their clients’ wellbeing close to their hearts.

Dragon Door celebrates its RKC leadership as individuals who each have something unique to bring to the party. We have chosen our leadership for their personal qualities as much as their skill and physical accomplishments as athletes and trainers. Life is short. Let’s enjoy it and be human about it!

RKC Helps You Realize Your Full Athletic Potential

The evolved RKC takes a sane approach to helping you realize your full athletic potential—instead of attempting to enforce arbitrary strength standards that lead to frequent injury, poor movement skills and the sacrifice of your overall health and wellbeing. Because the RKC’s curriculum emphasizes safe progressions and regressions, each person can train and develop themselves as complete all-around athletes, rather than being one-dimensional.

If you are looking to cultivate your full athletic potential in a healthy, safe manner, based on a pragmatic approach, then the RKC is the place for you.

RKC Rewards Skillful Effort

When we train strength at the RKC we train the skill of strength, not the stupidity of strength. Same for power, mobility, flexibility and endurance. The RKC’s goal is to graduate skilled instructors who—while modeling a high level of physical accomplishment themselves—have the competencies to properly train others in the absolute fundamentals of fitness.

We believe that consistent, skillful, diligent effort trumps the reckless bid to be strong whatever the cost.

2015 is shaping up to be one of great growth for the RKC. We invite you to join us in that journey…

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

From Broken to Team Leader

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Paul Britt Double Press At RKC

I was broken in October 2012 at the RKC-II. It happened because I was stupid and I let my ego get the best of me at the certification. I thought that I only had a minor training injury prior to arriving in St. Paul for the workshop. I had been working on heavy double presses on a day that I was tired, but due to having to attend this particular cert, I stayed with my “program”. In the middle of my final set, I felt a sharp pain on my left hip and back. I dropped the kettlebells and decided to take a few days off. It was still bugging me a few days later, so I went to a chiropractor. The consensus was that it was just a minor strain and that I would be okay to attend the certification. So off I went, with some kineseo tape to hold me together for the three days ahead of me.

I knew the snatch test would probably put too much stress on my back, so decided that I would wait till the last day to take it. I was able to get through all of my Level 1 skills and the half-body weight press on day 1 without too much trouble. But, I had a few problems with stability that I should have paid more attention to during the skills test. I noticed that I struggled with my foot on the left side for the get-up as it did not want to stay locked down as I moved through the different parts of the movement.

I initially started out with lighter weights than normal, just to allow me to get through the certification. I had a past Master RKC give me a hard time about the weight and I let my ego override what little sense I had and I bumped my weights up. Sometime during the day, I felt a pop in my back on the left side. I did not really feel a lot of pain at the time, so I kept on training. I got back to the hotel in a lot of pain and barely slept. When I got up the next morning, I literally had to drag my leg as I walked down the hall to find some Advil. I ended up buying eight packages and using four to get to breakfast and the first half of the cert. I had to take the other four to get through the rest of the day. The last day was even worse, I thought about just quitting, and I should have. Unfortunately, I am a little stubborn and hate to give up. At that point, nobody really knew what was going to happen to the RKC after that weekend, so in my head, I had to get through the weekend and earn what could possibly be the last RKC-II certification. So I pushed through and passed all of the tests except for the Jerk and the Snatch test. I knew that I had 90 days to send the video into someone to pass those two skills. Turns out that was not going to happen for a long time.

I knew as soon as I got off the airplane in Dallas that I was not right. I struggled to get out of the seat, get to my bags and walk to my car. I ended up getting home and telling my wife that I had screwed up and was badly injured. The pain was pretty constant, so I took off from all training for what was supposed to just be November, but it ended up being a nine month break. I had to train my lead coach, Justine Deets RKC, to pass her HKC and RKC skills without being able to perform them myself. She was my gym replacement while I was recovering. I hosted an HKC in January, but was unable to assist because even picking up 12kgs caused me a lot of pain.

I was not healing, so after the first of the year, it was time to see someone about it. I ended up being referred to the top spine doctor in the area. At my appointment he told me that I had herniated discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1, both on the left side. He informed me that it was a lifelong injury and that my days of heavy lifting were over. To say that I was not thrilled by that was an understatement, so I decided to show him that I would be back to heavy lifting again. I went with a non-surgical solution for the problem and had a series of injections into my back that gave some minor relief. While the injections did not allow me to start lifting again, they did allow me regain some everyday quality of life. It was at that time I met Dr. Steve Horwitz, DC (and now RKC instructor). Dr. Horwitz worked with me on my nutrition and showed me how to ease the inflammation and pain with proper supplementation. Once my nutrition was dealt with, I was able to start healing and training again.

I had scheduled an HKC/Primal Move Certification Weekend with Master RKC, Andrea Du Cane and Senior RKC Jay Armstrong, but was not really doing much in the way of training yet. Andrea knew about the injury, so she would not let me do much during the HKC. I was the ‘go-fer.” While I was finally moving better, I was still in pain with bad movement patterns most of the time. I was able to participate in the Primal Move Certification that weekend and found that it was life changing for me. I was able to go through the workshop pain free. It was amazing how much better I felt just going through the workshop. The one day workshop was like a reset button. It was the first time I was pain free during my day to day activities of living. It improved my movement, eased my pain and that definitely helped my outlook. I had been in a depression since being injured because I was unable to train and burn through my day to day frustrations.

Andrea and Jay also showed me a few drills, including pendulum swings. I also started playing with Figure 8’s as they allowed me to strengthen my posterior chain without moving through painful patterns and positions. I also went to town with Primal Move and added in Convict Conditioning on a daily basis. I would train something every day, but never to failure or into pain. That was my training program for about 3 months and every day I felt better, moved better and got stronger. My focus was on healing and avoiding pain. I spent lots of time on the pullup bar, doing handstand pushups and Convict Conditioning skills on top of daily Primal Move work.

In October of 2013, I hosted an RKC with Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC leading the workshop. She asked to see my skills as an Assistant. I hadn’t trained with any weight over 16kgs in any of the RKC Basics prior to the certification weekend. This was one year after blowing out my back and I figured that it would be ugly. I had not even attempted any of the skills with my snatch test weight prior to this attempt. I was actually scared when I was asked to do it as I knew it was going to be a hot mess. I was pain free and nailed my skills test. After that it was as if I had been freed from a dark hole. Andrea had to keep me reined in all weekend because I was so excited that I was able to train again. She told Shane England RKC, that they had “unleashed a monster”, I could not stop playing around with the kettlebells. I participated in as many of the drills as the attendees did as I tried to fix the bad habits that got me into the position I was in.

After that weekend I continued to train and work on a lot of rehab style work to get back to a decent level of strength. In that time, I was able to host and assist at several HKC’s and RKC’s. I improved my skills and movement at every event I attended. Andrea let me assist at every event and she helped me improve my skills at every certification. If it had not been for her friendship and mentoring, I would not have been able to train or teach at the level I am at now. In July, I was promoted to RKC Team Leader, based in part on my ability to come back as a better instructor because of my injury. It forced me to re-evaluate everything that I was doing as an RKC. Prior to this, my skills were not as good as they should have been. The injury made me a better coach, and I became stronger because of it. I have to use the RKC Principles correctly to avoid being injured again.

Paul Britt Coaching

I was able to get to the point where I was able to press half bodyweight again and knew that I had to try RKC-II again. In October, I hosted the RKC-II at my gym. We had a great group of strong people in attendance. Like the last time, Day 1 was RKC I and our strength requirement test. I felt that it was the easiest and best RKC recert test that I have ever performed. My skills were dialed in and the snatch test was by far my best one that I have ever completed, it was almost easy (the snatch test is never really easy). I passed RKC-II after a long weekend of heavy lifting. I had gone into the weekend with some trepidation, because I had been hurt. It was probably harder for me mentally than physically due to my last attempt ending so badly. I was nervous going into the testing as I did not fully believe that I could get through it without being injured, but I only had a slight issue with my left side pistol stability.

RKC-II Group Photo in Texas

What did I learn from all of this? I learned a lot, though I wish I had learned it without being injured. I was once taught that experience came after you needed it. I hope that someone uses mine to avoid taking the same path. Do not terrain into pain. If you are injured and your life is not in danger, take a break and heal. Do not let your ego cause you to do stupid stuff. There is no certification that is worth permanent injury and we hold a lot of certifications during the year. That is why I am glad that I chose to stay with the RKC. Dragon Door and the RKC’s focus on being a great instructor and their focus on the safe building of your skills is why I am proud to be a part of this community.

What’s next? I am training for the Beast Tamer. The plan is to do it for my 48th birthday at the October 2015 RKC led by Master RKC Andrew Read. There is still room and time to sign up for that certification.

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

A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for Problematic Kettlebell Presses

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Master RKC Andrew Read Performs a Kettlebell Bottoms Up Press

The learning and skill continuum that begins at HKC and progresses through RKC and RKC-II follows a fairly straight line. We begin with patterning exercises in HKC—two hand swings, the goblet squat, and the get-up—before progressing to one handed variations on these themes such as the clean and snatch, and the double kettlebell front squat at the RKC. The work done on the get-up lends itself to pressing and snatching which in turn leads to the double push press and jerk as well as the windmill and the bent press at RKC-II.

At RKC-II, people usually face one of two problems, either their thoracic mobility is poor and they struggle with the double overhead work (as well as the windmill and bent press) or they struggle to get their heavy press. As much as the old RKC saying, “To press a lot, you must press a lot” does ring true for many, it may also lead to bigger problems down the line.

About a year ago I wrote an article for Breaking Muscle (Single Kettlebell Ballistic Complexes: How to Save Your Shoulders and Still Work Overhead) which explained the three different types of AC joint set up that people have, as well as possible ways to train long term without damaging yourself. But that still doesn’t help us with the heavy press goal if we’re on our way to RKC-II, does it?

When I wrote Beast Tamer, I outlined many different press plans that could help you get through a sticking point in your press training. I’ve learnt a bit since then and want to outline a plan below that will help you get through your sticking points without risking injury.

What we need is a drill that gives us the same feel as the heavy press and the same effort—all without placing the same strain on the AC joint. This is where the bottoms-up press (BUP) comes into play. The BUP is an interesting drill. Interesting in that I have used it as a one-size-fits-all solution for a variety of problems with the press. Not gripping the kettlebell tightly? The BUP will fix that. Not staying tight in your press? The BUP will fix that too.

The BUP is ideal for our needs as it teaches great form while forcing you to use less load. That may sound problematic, but the body doesn’t register how much you lift, only how much tension you generate. If your form is even slightly off, the kettlebell will fall. This is what makes the BUP ideal as a learning tool. It is automatically apparent what needs to happen and where the point of failure is.

Imagine that the fulcrum (center of rotation) for this movement is not the delicate AC joint, but instead a point midway between the deltoid and the elbow—essentially the middle of the bicep. By focusing on having your elbow move around that point while doing a BUP you will teach your whole body to engage during the press. Likely you will find this feels significantly different to what you have been doing when overhead pressing.

One of the things to keep in mind in relation to the BUP, is that it has a great effect up to a point. I don’t believe that past 32kg they do much to boost your press as the skill becomes its own lift. Prior to that they can be a valuable tool to teach you tension and alignment. Do not make the mistake of turning the drill into an exercise. The goal is never to have the best BUP in the world, rather to use the BUP to build your press.

Low reps are a must with the BUP, as the CNS fatigue from the high grip demand is intense. 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps seem to work best prior to your limit presses for the day.

The other side of this equation is that healthy shoulders are not built from pressing alone. For every push, you must have at least one set of pulling to counteract it. While the pull up is usually the choice of functional trainers, I’ll caution against it as the lat also acts as an internal rotator of the arm, so if all you do are presses and pull ups you’re just as likely to end up with bad shoulders as if you only did presses.

At RPT, we use a variety of weighted mobility drills to achieve healthy shoulders. Here’s how a press workout might look:

Lying dislocates with weight – 3 sets of 10 reps. Paired with push-ups for 3 sets of 10-20 reps.

BUP – 2 x 5 at 50%

Y-T-Row – 2 x 5-5-10

BUP – 3 ladders of 1-2-3 reps combined with easy light two-hand swings in between to help shake the tension out.

Perform a rear support—think of it as a face up plank—for 60 seconds and then do a get-up on each side. Perform three super sets of this as a final shoulder health practice. Make sure to stretch after and “unglue” all the tension you’ve built up in these muscles during training. Pay particular attention to the triceps, lats, traps, and shoulders.

***

Andrew Read, Master RKC, Author of Beast Tamer, is head of Dragon Door Australia and Read Performance Training. Recognized as Australia’s leading functional strength trainer he is a regular contributor to Blitz, Inside MMA, International Kickboxer, Oxygen, Ultrafit and Breaking Muscle. His coaching background spans nearly twenty years having worked with many Olympic and world championship level athletes.

Successful Training with Kettlebells–Four Things to Consider

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Sebastian Muller Kettlebell Bottom Up

When I started training with kettlebells, and right after I went to a beginner’s kettlebell seminar, it was really frustrating for me to only have a very restricted number of exercises for my training.

I asked myself, “How can I train my whole body with only these few exercises?”

Well, back then I had no clue and had not yet learned the “real” kettlebell training principles. I was taught the basics at the seminar, but I didn’t totally comprehend them. Understanding them took a much longer time.

So I started training by myself, and it ended up taking me a year or longer to fully understand kettlebell training and how I could really use it.

Here are four things that helped me get much more out of my kettlebell training:

1. Strength is a skill.

“How obvious is that slogan?” I thought when I’ve heard it for the first time. Of course, strength is a skill, just like endurance, speed, and mobility. It’s also a matter of how in shape or fit you are. Why are the guys making such a fuss about it?

“Train with kettlebells and you’ll become stronger”, I always thought. But when I understood that I had to train the skill of “strength” to become strong, that’s when I started to get the real benefits from the training. I stopped counting sets and reps and started to practice, to grind movement patterns. I worked on improving my technique and listening to my body while I was practicing.

A good example to explain this “skill” approach is the handstand. When I want to start training handstands, I can’t just start off with the idea like, “Today I’ll do 3 reps of handstands, where I stand for 30 seconds unsupported in the middle of a room”. That’s not how it works. Instead, you should practice handstands. You need to feel what’s important for doing a handstand—when, where and what muscles need to be used. Even if that means 20 attempts at 3 seconds against a wall in the beginning. If you are paying attention, you’ll know when you need to stop, your body will tell you the exact moment (and I don’t mean total muscle failure).

It’s the same with kettlebell strength exercises. If you want to improve your strength efficiently, you need to first master the movement itself. When you’ve learned what and when to contract, and how this movement pattern feels with a certain weight, it is easy to develop strength. If you can’t press one weight it means you’re only allowed to practice that movement with lighter weights.

2. Quality before quantity.

Quality before quantity counts especially when practicing. Once you’ve mastered a movement with weights, movement quality should always be at the forefront. If quantity is more important to you, then reps and sets will always be more important to you than the quality of the movement and body perception.

If you are doing 1 set of 10 reps with a perfect technique, followed by 2 sets with 10 miserable reps just to get to 30 reps, what will your body learn from this session?

I’ll tell you. Your body will get really good at forcing itself through routines. No matter if it needs to compensate here or there, over time, the faulty pattern will be reinforced. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what you see with many recreational athletes. This quantity approach will work until the unavoidable injury and then it’s too late.

What the head commands, the body will always carry out!

So, practice and train smart. Quality is king!

3. Kettlebell training trains the entire body.

At first, I always thought that many different exercises were necessary to ideally train the whole body. That was why I was not satisfied after my beginner kettlebell course. This idea mainly came from my own training history. Today, I know that I can train my entire body with just a few exercises with better results than when I was using 10 different exercises for the same purpose.

There is a big difference in knowing that kettlebell training equals training the entire body and understanding kettlebell training equals training the entire body.

Often, people will ask for more exercises after a few reps of double swings followed by double clean & presses. Instead they should relax, because they have already trained their whole body.

I can’t stress that idea enough—if you practice and train correctly, you are using your whole body on each kettlebell exercise. All muscles need to work together efficiently. Sure, you can always focus on a specific body part, but you are always demanding your body as a whole.

Sebastian Muller Kettlebell Press

4. 80% is enough.

This concept is from Master RKC Max Shank and it changed my training forever.

If you can do 5 reps, only do 4. If you can do 10 reps, leave it with 8. Unfortunately, when I write about not training to muscle failure, people sometimes take that literally and just put themselves into their comfort zone. Then 80% quickly become 50% or less.

When I write about 4 instead of 5 reps, I mean your absolute maximum of possible repetitions. If you can do 5 repetitions and not a single one more, then these are your maximum repetitions in this progression or exercise. Or, 100%.

I keep seeing clients who sometimes spare one rep of their 50% maximum. That’s unfortunately not how this principle works, and it often happens subconsciously. If you don’t know your numbers, it’s hard to know where you stand.

For that reason, it’s a good thing to test where your maximum is once in a while (always with a good spotter, please). Otherwise, it’s very likely that you will keep the reps you do too low, which is as counterproductive as always training to 100%.

Earlier, I wrote about the meaning of practicing, and here, the 80% idea works perfectly. Listen to your body. Sets and repetitions are overrated. I would view them more as flexible guidelines and not carved into stone. Your condition on a given day will always effect your training, and should not be ignored.

If you grimace horribly during training, can’t breathe during an exercise, or your technique falls apart, chances are you were training to your 101%. Pay attention and stop before this happens. Just because your plan was to do 5 sets of 5 reps with weigh X today, it doesn’t mean your condition on that day will allows it to happen.

Let me tell you something—you will still have a good session if you only do only 4 reps in the third set and possibly two in the last two sets. If these reps were your 80%, then congratulations, you suppressed your ego and trained intelligently. And another thing, the kettlebell does not excuse foolishness.

Sebastian Muller Challenge

Save your 100% for competitions or challenges when it’s all or nothing, and perform your training sessions at 80%. If you are not in a competition sport, challenge yourself once a month. Try to set a record on an exercise. That will also help you to know your numbers. You are keeping a training journal, right?

It took me forever to incorporate these points into my kettlebell training, which was probably due to my training history and ego. Maybe you’re not as spoiled and have an ego knows it’s place in everyday life. If so, then get going, get yourself a kettlebell, learn the techniques, and start training!

***

Sebastian Müller, RKC Team Leader, PCC Instructor, FMS, and Primal Move Instructor, trains and instructs at the KRABA location in Wiemar, Germany. He can be contacted by email at: info@kraba-erfurt.de and his website: http://www.kraba-erfurt.de.  His Blog is Vereinfachedeintraining.com

Flawless Victory

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HKC NYC with Steve Holiner Group Photo

Winning at video games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat is all about performing well executed combinations. Linking up the right sequence of punches and kicks can get you that perfect score or a flawless victory.

The same can be said for combining strength training systems. In November, I taught the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training Level 1 Certification and Dragon Door’s HKC Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification over the course of one weekend. I have spoken before about how DVRT (Dynamic Variable Resistance Training) and HKC/RKC strengthen and support each other. Well, this powerhouse certification combination delivered the perfect blend of education and hands-on application that lead to a flawless victory—everyone passed on the day of the HKC. That’s right, we had a 100% pass rate for the HKC.

VideoGameCombo

Isn’t that what we all want? We are all trying to find the very best strategies to fully unlock our own potential.

How did the 100% pass rate at this HKC happen?

Honestly, the DVRT (Dynamic Variable Resistance Training) Level I certification set everyone up for success at the HKC. Often mistaken as just a “sandbag” certification, DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training is a well-rounded system of coaching, progression, and regression of movement. Though the USB (Ultimate Sandbag) is our main line of offense, the DVRT system can be integrated with any implement. Obtaining quality movement is at the core of DVRT. We dig deep into hinging, squatting, pressing and lunging patterns throughout the day. We also teach important factors of stability, optimal breathing and how to create tension in great detail.

You might THINK you know these movements, but the DVRT attacks from a whole new position that both excites and challenges the students.

DVRT Workshop with Steve Holiner group photo

And what most people don’t realize is that the DVRT cert is very physically challenging! The clean and push press test is no joke. Hopefully, people come to the DVRT having trained harder than they might have for an HKC. It’s hard to fail when you are strong and have excellent technique. By day two, all of the candidates were ready to kick HKC butt—and kick it they did!

At the HKC, we cover the kettlebell swing, goblet squat and Turkish get-up in great detail. Candidates are also tested on how well they coach these movements. We dig deeply into many drills which help people learn and troubleshoot the lifts. Much of this information reinforces what we taught at the DVRT. At the HKC the next day, the participants were able to soak in the knowledge then apply it—instead of just hitting a wall or feeling like their central nervous systems were fried.

Just like any video game, to really win you must pick the right characters for your team. I picked a group of awesome characters perfect for the job. Fellow Master DVRTs James Newman and Gavin Van Vlack and DVRT-II Hannah Fons are exceptional coaches I’ve worked with several times in the past. They NEVER disappoint, and have brought so much value and experience to the DVRT cert.

Teaching the get-up at the HKC

For the HKC team, RKCs Jason Kapnick and Joe Boffi are also stellar when it comes to kettlebell training (among their many other skill sets). They also happen to be partners at the host facility (along with the awesome Dr. Kathy Dooley) Catalyst S.P.O.R.T.

So where am I going with this?

MK_FlawlessVictoryIn a time when we are bombarded with fitness trends and certification chasing, it is easy to just “mash buttons” like you would on a video game controller. But, those button mashers usually don’t do too well in the long haul. The smart player, or strength coach, learns how the system works inside and out and then destroys his opponent. DVRT and HKC/RKC are for those that want to be the skilled player. That’s how you earn a flawless victory!

There are many DVRT/HKC Combos in the works.

Now there’s an added bonus if you have the RKC in your sights. Certified HKC instructors will receive an immediate, extra $200.00 discount when they register for a future RKC workshop.

If you are a current HKC Instructor in good standing, receive this immediate, extra discount on an upcoming RKC workshop by simply logging into your account on DragonDoor.com. After adding an RKC Workshop of your choice to your cart, enter the following Promo Code at checkout: HKCSPECIAL

Upcoming DVRT/HKC Workshops:

Onelife Fitness. Kansas City, MO. March 21-22.
DVRT/HKC: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/dvhk005/
DVRT Only: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/dvrt005/
HKC Only: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/hkc369/

Quest Fitness. Guilford, CT. May 16-17.
*Registration opens next week.

Catalyst S.P.O.R.T. New York, NY. November 7-8.
DVRT/HKC: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/dvhk006/
DVRT Only: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/dvrt006/
HKC Only: http://www.dragondoor.com/workshops/details/hkc377/

Yours in strength and fury,

-Fury out

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner, DVRT Master Instructor, Senior RKC, is a proud member of the Ninja Army training staff at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. He also has availability for private training at Five Points Academy and Catalyst S.P.O.R.T. Check out www.coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.