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RKC School of Strength

Official blog of the RKC

movement patterns

Moving Strong(er) Equals Training Strong(er)

May 25, 2016 By Russell Andrews 2 Comments

Russ Andrews Group Class

First, let’s consider the human movement system. What parts are involved? What is moving? What initiates the movement?

The human movement system is comprised of the nervous system, skeletal system, and the muscle system—including all the connective soft tissues: tendons, ligaments, and fascia. The nervous system is the master control center of the entire body. It coordinates every function, contraction, and every movement. The nervous system is a super highway of sensory and motor output controlling proper functions, compensating for deficiencies, and altering positions and patterns to maintain homeostasis. The human body is a global tensegrity unit.

Tensegrity

Nerve impulses contract muscles. Muscles and tendons tug on the bones. Ligaments connect bones to other bones, and fascia covers a great portion of the entire system. The skeleton can’t generate movement without muscle contractions. The soft tissue cannot contract to move the bones without the neural input firing impulses into the muscles. It takes all three systems to generate movement.

In perfect human movement, every muscle would be the perfect length, have perfect tension, and have perfect flexibility. The skeletal system would be perfectly uniform and aligned to move with precision and accuracy. The joints would have freedom of movement and quality mobility.

But we aren’t perfect.

Throughout life, we encounter interruptions and interference to our movement system. Here are just a few of them:

  • Congenital issues
  • Traumas and injuries
  • Altered growth patterns
  • Diseases
  • Poor nutrition
  • Lack of quality water
  • Lack of quality sleep
  • Sedentary lifestyles
  • Excess stress
  • Poor air quality and pollution
  • Lack of movement and exercise (of any type)

These interruptions force the human system to rearrange its alignment, compensate for imbalances, alter movement patterns, and adapt to dysfunctions—all to maintain homeostasis so we can perform in our daily lives. The body will maintain this re-arrangement until there’s a breakdown, an overload, or some type of system collapse. How can we maintain our systems and facilitate efficient function with minimal breakdowns? In other words, how can we move strong(er) in hopes of avoiding catastrophe?

I teach a wonderful class at Life University in the Chiropractic Science Department called Wellness, Movement Assessments, and Conditioning. In this class, we assess movement patterns then determine the soft tissue connections involved in dysfunctional patterns. After collecting all the data, we begin re-training the dysfunctional movement patterns by introducing corrective mobilization exercises and drills. We begin with simple ball rolling on the involved muscles.

Russ2SimpleBallRollingWhen using many of the kettlebell and bodyweight exercises in Dragon Door’s philosophy of addressing the total athlete, the improvements and results are phenomenal. When improving dysfunctional movement patterns, it is important to introduce corrective patterns through sensory input. This way, the brain can begin rewriting the movement patterns recorded in the cerebellum.

Some of the exercises we use are the get-up, windmill, one-leg deadlift, goblet squat, cossack stretch, renegade row, bear crawl, and arm bar. These movements are the “backbone” corrective exercises. We also mix in crawling patterns, diaphragmatic breathing, and bodyweight core-engagement exercises.

teaching...
Teaching the kettlebell exercises to Chiropractic students peaks their interest in the versatility and advantage of knowing how to incorporate the kettlebell in correcting movement patterns.

As my good friend Max Shank has repeatedly said, “To improve movement at a certain joint, say the gleno-humeral joint, work from the inside out.” That’s where the focal point of the corrections begin. Strengthen the core, next work on proper diaphragmatic breathing, address scapula stability and mobility, and then arrive at the gleno-humeral joint for strength and mobility. The same formula of working inside out also applies to the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex.

Along with teaching and instructing at Life University, I work with a local high school building quality athletes with kettlebells and movement exercises. These young players are experiencing the increase in strength and mobility that the kettlebell exercises deliver.

Moving Strong(er)             Training Strong(er)
Moving Strong(er) Training Strong(er)

Lastly, at Train Strong Gym, I work with local athletes. We use kettlebells to develop athletic strength and mobility. The benefits from kettlebell training is almost endless.

RussTrainingHighSchoolAthletes

In these three platforms, I have the privilege of introducing the value that the kettlebell exercises delivers to all these students and athletes. The knowledge and experience gained at all these levels is invaluable.

Russ Andrews Fingertip Pushup

****

Russell Andrews, Chiropractor (23 years), Assistant Professor at Life University, RKC, FMS, 30 years in Strength and Conditioning, certified in kinesiotaping. Previous speaker for the Glazier Football Coaches Clinics, lecturer, future author, co-instructor with Beth Andrews, Senior RKC at Trainstronggym.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: fascia, fms, human movement, kettlebell exercises, movement patterns, muscular system, RKC, Russell Andrews, soft tissue, tensegrity

Be More Human

January 6, 2016 By Josh Henkin Leave a Comment

Kettlebell One Arm Swing

I’m in a great position nowadays. I get to counsel many younger coaches and hopefully teach them the lessons I wish I’d known when I was first starting in fitness. Even so, I keep hearing the same question:

“Which book or program do I use… so I don’t make mistakes?”

I always have to explain that making mistakes is part of the learning process. Mistakes are only a problem if they’re repeated. That philosophy really resonates with me because I grew up in a family of teachers. My mother, father, grandmother, and my aunt were all teachers and professors.

This is why I don’t ever consider mistakes to be a bad thing. In fact, the mistakes I’ve made have helped me become the coach I am today! Through that evolution and experience, my thoughts on “strength training” have changed quite drastically.

I went through several stages of what I THOUGHT strength training was all about:

  • Lifting as heavy as possible
  • Getting as tired as possible
  • Doing the “magical” lifts

If you can name it, then I have probably tried it at one point or another. But, nothing ever felt quite right until now. Now, what I see as strength is actually inspired by the old ideas from physical culture. Originally, exercise was never solely a physical venture, but included the whole person.

Then I realized that the real purpose of strength training was to help people become better humans.

At every RKC and DVRT program, I ask the class, “Do you believe in functional training?” Almost everyone does, but they look puzzled when I ask them to define functional training. Usually I get answers like, “Functional training makes people better in their lives.”

Who could argue with such an answer, even if it is really vague. But, approaching a training methodology in this philosophical way gives us no clear vision. We often forget what makes us human. Yes, people will tell us that we squat, hinge, push, and pull, but a list of such general movements is almost as vague as the term “functional training”!

I ask our classes to think about THE most common movement they all perform. I get answers like squats and deadlifts—but how much of that do you really do during the course of a day? The answer I am REALLY looking for is “walking”! Did you just hit yourself in the forehead? Walking contains elements of many different movement patterns that most people would consider to be part of a training program. I bring up walking because most of our REAL human activities are not singular motions found in the gym, but a combination of simultaneous movement patterns.

I know, we think of walking as simple, while a swing or snatch is complex. Everyone can walk, but not everyone can do a Turkish get-up. Well, lets put it this way—not everyone walks well! To put things in perspective, my wife, a physical therapist, spent a whole semester learning gait analysis (watching and examining how people walk). And most experts agree that there are between six and eight phases to the act of walking. Not so simple, right?

Lifting more for the sake of lifting more doesn’t really do us any good unless it increases our movement efficiency. Renowned physical therapist, Gray Cook, had a really good statement about this type of training:

“In other words, we want adaptable strength that can work in changing environments. Adaptable strength is developed though complex movement patterns, not over-rehearsed, over-coached lifts in a never-changing environment. The athlete, warrior, outdoor enthusiast or physical adventurer embraces change and challenge, while the gym rat needs comfort and consistency for a happy workout.”

How does this idea apply to your strength training? We tend to live in a value system where the heavier weight is the better option, while we forget the benefits of moving to more complex movements.

https://youtu.be/Tqed0CCRhPY

A few weekends ago, I taught a sold out New York RKC. We were discussing the one-arm kettlebell swing, and I asked the class what real life movement it most resembled. People looked at each other, and a few shouted out answers before I simply said, “Walking”. You would have thought I had had a mic drop moment when I gave the answer in that context.

Why walking? Because it includes reciprocal arm swing. This basically means that your arm swings with the opposite leg. This movement pattern happens for many reasons, but we all do it. Walking also requires us to push down into the ground and project our bodies forward. Guess what else walking needs? (Hint: the answer is also one of the biggest reasons that we swing only to chest height and not over our heads.)

I’m not saying that the one-arm swing is EXACTLY like walking, but it involves the same foundational skills required in this very common human motion we perform every day. With this in mind, you might appreciate that the BEST exercise might not be the one that is only heavier, but the one which places a more complex demand on the body and requires us to become better moving humans!

***

Sign up for the Las Vegas RKC with Master RKC Josh Henkin

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.

Master RKC Josh Henkin 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: Coaching, Kettlebell Training, Tutorial Tagged With: Coaching, foundational skills, human movement patterns, Josh Henkin, kettlebell swing, kettlebell swing progressions, kettlebell swings, Master RKC Josh Henkin, movement patterns, strength, strength training, walking

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

October 28, 2015 By Matt Beecroft 5 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, how should you fix your kettlebell swing?

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

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

The FMS and the RKC teach patterning in this order:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

Filed Under: Coaching, Kettlebell Training, Tutorial Tagged With: clean a kettlebell, how to learn kettlebell swing, how to teach the kettlebell swing, how-to, kettlebell squat, kettlebell swing regressions, kettlebells, Matt Beecroft, movement patterning, movement patterns, movement quality, tutorial

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Dragon Door Publications / The author(s) and publisher of this material are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may occur through following the instructions or opinions contained in this material. The activities, physical and otherwise, described herein for informational purposes only, may be too strenuous or dangerous for some people, and the reader(s) should consult a physician before engaging in them.