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RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

dvrt

Flawless Victory

November 26, 2014 By Steve "Coach Fury" Holiner 3 Comments

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.

Filed Under: Coaching, Kettlebell Training Tagged With: Coach Fury, dvrt, DVRT Certification, hkc, HKC Workshop, RKC Discount, Steve Holiner, Ultimate Sandbag

The 3-6-9-12 Program

October 29, 2014 By Josh Henkin 1 Comment

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!

***

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.

Filed Under: Tutorial, Workout of the Week Tagged With: Athletic Training, dvrt, Dynamic Variable Resistance Training, Josh Henkin, kettlebell training, kettlebell workout, kettlebells, sandbag workout, Ultimate Sandbag, workout

Using DVRT Training to Improve Your Turkish Get-Ups

August 13, 2014 By Steve "Coach Fury" Holiner 2 Comments

Coach Fury Kettlebell Get-Up

It’s time for another fitness tip from your man Fury. The Turkish get-up is one of my all time favorite lifts. The relative simplicity and overall impact of the TGU make it an absolute desert island movement in my book. Few things get me more excited than a beautifully executed TGU (especially when heavy). Sometimes we fall short of beautiful and need to think “out of the box” on how to hit that high standard we strive for. This is where Dynamic Variable Resistance Training (DVRT) and the Ultimate Sandbag (USB) comes into play.

Coach Fury TGU with Human WeightPersonally, I find the three hardest parts of a get-up (regardless of weight) to be the initial roll to elbow, the half kneeling to stand and the final roll from elbow to your back. Whether it’s a kettlebell, barbell or the occasional human being (not recommended), I usually know I’ll make it (or come close) if I get to the elbow. The half kneel to stand will usually by my next sticking point. The roll back down from the elbow is often more nerve racking from a self preservation standpoint.

I think most will agree with me on these three positions within the TGU sequence. Here are three DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises that will help the cause.

1. Ultimate Sandbag TGU. In the DVRT TGU, the USB is loaded over the shoulder and it will drape over part of the back and chest as you move. Some key points here. Being shoulder loaded removes the leverage generally provided by the locked out arm of the kettlebell TGU. The USB is literally pushing you directly into the floor while sand in the front and back of the USB is pulling downward too. The USB is doing it’s best to keep you on your back. What’s awesome about this, is that you truly have to develop the rolling pattern to get to the elbow. You are forced to get that proper diagonal roll from the shoulder to opposite elbow. Given proper thoracic mobility and the ability to lockout the arm, a kettlebell TGU to elbow will feel easier after nailing this down. This delivers the same payday on the descending elbow to back roll. The USB TGU also removes all fear of dropping a bell on your head while training the roll to and from elbow. Strength+Safety=Glory.

2. USB Lateral Lunges. Damn you sagittal plane! That half kneeling lunge to stand is a stability monster when you’re doing a TGU. Sometimes, instead of stepping back from a problem it is best to step sideways. There are a bunch of killer USB Lateral Lunge exercises and any of them will help with your half kneel to stand. Training your lunges within the frontal plane (side to side) will help you build some untapped stability. Spend some time with USB Lateral Lunges and watch how your half kneel to stand becomes a thing to be feared.

3. Rotational Lunge. This move delivers similar benefits to the lateral lunges but now we’re moving in even more plains of motions. Transverse much yo! This will bullet proof your TGU. Ever feel those legs and hips wobble under a heavy getup? Get good at rotational lunges with a USB and see how they feel know. The RT adds another killer bonus: by snapping the hips similar to a swing, but within a lunge pattern, you will very likely find it easier to simply stand up a helluva lot quicker in your TGU.

Now those are three ways to use DVRT/Ultimate Sandbag Training to help your Turkish get-up. I’d bet these lifts would help your deadliest, squat and press too. Doubt me? Try it. These aren’t meant to be quick fixes or voodoo tricks. Step away from your TGU for 1-3 weeks and focus on one or more of these DVRT exercises. Then check out their impact on your TGU and smile big in the post PR selfie you just took.

Please keep me posted on your progress.

I suggest digging deeper into the DVRT Training system by attending a workshop or one of our certifications. Click here to find dates and locations. Yours truly will be leading a DVRT Level I Cert and an HKC Kettlebell Cert at Kathy Dooley, Joe Boffi and Jason Kapnick’s place Catalyst S.P.O.R.T. in NYC on November 1 and 2nd. You can register for one or both (big discount on both) through the link.

I hope to see you there.

-Fury out

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner, DVRT Master Instructor, Senior RKC, Original Strength Instructor, 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.

Filed Under: Tutorial Tagged With: Coach Fury, corrective exercise, dvrt, get up, how-to, Kettlebell, Steve Holiner, turkish get up, tutorial, video tutorial

Revenge of the Lunge!

August 14, 2013 By Josh Henkin 8 Comments

JoshHenkinCoachingSandbagMovements
One is for serious strength.

The other is for firming and toning.

One is for packing on functional muscle.

The other is to sculpt.

One is for increased performance in just about everything.

The other goes well with spandex.

What are these two contrasting things? I am comparing how most people in fitness see squats and lunges. The squat has long been held up as “the king” of lower body exercises while the lunge has often been seen as the token exercise that you do because it is suppose to be good for you. However, you would never dream of emphasizing the lunge over the squat, or would you?

For quite some time I had the above belief, especially during my days competing in Strongman. Real strength was reserved for squats, deadlifts, cleans and such. Why waste precious energy on an exercise that many coaches think we can save for music pumping aerobic classes?

Something interesting began to happen though. As I kept going heavier in my training my body started feeling it. Stiffness, tightness, and little increase in my performance made me begin to wonder if there was a better way to really get strong and fit.

It wasn’t just casual aches and pains, I began to see my recovery take much longer, I saw my training being based around what didn’t hurt that day. How in the world could I go against the gospel of strength training though?

Really only one reason would be good enough to go against such established beliefs, I felt and performed better when I made lunges more of a core lift in my programs! Why? Why in the world would I have started seeing better results from implementing lunges not as an accessory exercise, but a focused lift?

I began to wonder why, after all I can theorize things such as better hip stability, building more mobility, fixing imbalances, hmmm, might be something here.

While I am from the first person to think lunges are worthwhile, is there anything more than my anecdotal evidence though? Is this just some silly controversy I am trying to begin?

A 1999 study by scientists at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, set out to find different levels of muscle activation by some common lower body exercises. In this study, both squats and lunges were included. The results?

The researchers studied glute max, glute medius, and hamstrings. All three are important in hip stability and power production. According to the EMG activity of 12 trained individuals there were three interesting findings;

“For the gluteus maximus, squats elicited significantly more muscle activation than both the horizontal and vertical leg presses, but showed no significant differences in EMG activity when compared to the other exercises.” (yes including lunges)

“Results for the gluteus medius showed that quadruped hip extensions, step- ups and lunges generated significantly more muscle activation than squats.”

“Finally, for the hamstrings quadruped hip extensions, step-ups, lunges and four-way hip extensions garnered significantly more EMG activity than squats…”

Hmm, isolated study? How about a study where researchers from the University of Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky University looked at muscle activity of squats compared to lunges. The study looked at female college athletes and found, “ that there was no greater muscle activation when performing any of the squat depths to that of the body weight lunge. It was revealed that the body weight lunge did indeed produce more activation in the majority of all muscles analyzed when compared to the three squat depths.”

Why mention the body weight lunge? The real shock here is that the lunge was compared to a weighted squat! That says a lot about the power lunges do possess.

Don’t worry though, all this lunge talk doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in the squat. I just want to open your eyes to the often overlooked lunge and maybe have all of us re-evaluate how we implement this great drill.

Henkin

More Than One Plane

The lunge represents a less stable body position, this level of instability actually causes a lot of often underutilized muscles to turn on. Turning on these smaller muscles (stabilizers) helps build strength in a more indirect route. By improving the whole body stability of the body we develop a stronger foundation in which to develop force and strength. As goes the old saying, “you are only as strong as your weakest link!”

The less stable body positions also represent a highly underutilized form of training, multi-planar. Basically, multi-planar training is when we move in one plane of motion (there are three in natural human movement) and resist motion in other planes.

Even something as simple as walking actually has us moving in all three planes at once, however, we rarely train this in the gym. Remember, we want to connect our strength training to our every day living as much as possible.

What does multi-planar training look like? When we step forward in a lunge we actually are also resisting forces that are pushing us to the side and trying to make us rotate. We can use kettlebells to actually enhance this effect.

Multi-planar training increases stability, makes our nervous system smarter, and yes, can be awesome for improving conditioning. This is something we don’t really get the opportunity to train in our more stable lifts such as squats and deadlifts.

More Than Up and Down

Think of your favorite athlete, look how we do most things in life, rarely in either case do we see movements that are strictly up and down patterns. We are reaching, twisting, moving in all sorts of positions often at once. This is something we can really use the lunge to help improve.

One of the more overlooked benefits of lunging is the fact we don’t just get force when we move up and down, but by lunging in different directions we get some really unique forces acting upon the body. A big reason that knowing the right direction to progress your lunges is important is because we can greatly increase the intensity of a lunge just by changing direction.

For example, when we lunge forward, more of our body must be decelerated as we step forward than when we step backwards. Drop lunging (lunging backwards) keeps our most of our center of mass over our base of support. Huh? Forward lunging is harder than backward lunging because we have more of our body to stop as we step in that direction. This is something we see very often in sport and every day life.

Consider all the various directions we can step when we lunge and you have a wide array of ways to progress and challenge the lunge beyond just the weights you use!

Bring in the Kettlebells

Kettlebells add such a great dimension to the lunge. With all the patterns that kettlebells can create, there seems to be infinite ways to progress the lunge outside of just going heavier. Today’s training video actually features how we manipulate kettlebell holding positions to create some very unique training effects .

Using these strategies allow you to use kettlebells for more than just adding weight to the body. There becomes specific means of challenging the various benefits of lunging.

Since we often program the most demanding exercise (in both coordination and neurological energy) first, you might find that you start prioritizing your kettlebell lunges and then perform some of your squats and deadlifts after. You may even be more shocked that you get better at squats and deadlifts even though you have de-emphasized them.

Once you try these kettlebell lunge variations you might find the lunge having its revenge in your workouts as well!

***

References: Also: Dwelly, P., Oliver, G. Blair, H., Keeley, D. Hoffman, H, “Improved Muscle Activation in Performing A Body Weight Lunge Compared to the Traditional Back Squat,” University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA

***

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.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dvrt, henkin, Josh Henkin, kettlebells, lunge, revenge, RKC, sandbag, sandbags, training

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