Kettlebell Kimbo!

 
I am sure you remember Kimbo Slice? He took full advantage of the whole you tube phenomena... he beat up dudes in boat yards and alleys... he looked to be perhaps the baddest man on the planet... But something happened that people just didn't expect.. he got recruited into the UFC and they tried to teach him MMA but he didn't do so well... He could street fight other brawlers, but when he stepped into the arena with real fighters, high level athletes.. Kimbo not only got killed, he looked desperately helpless!

I bring this up because I do not want you to get fooled by these youtube heros that never compete anywhere... I saw a guy snatching a kettlebell the other day at like 40 rpms!! There is no way that this can be done safely or intelligently. The best snatchers in the world top out at 30 rpms?? But we are supposed to be impressed with this silly little backyard speed test?

The truth is, if they are so much better than the legit people doing the real lifts, why don't they compete with other lifters? This will never happen...Because,  they have constructed an online persona that would totally be crushed if they showed up and got "Kimboed"...
And let's face it, nobody likes to look like a tomato can!

Developing a strong overhead!

Basically in the sport of Kettlebell lifting, there is only 2 places that you can legally get rest during a set... The first place is the rack position, and second place ( my focus in this blog post) is the overhead position.
Psychologically, it is hard to think about relaxing when you are supporting 2 heavy kettlebells over your cranium, but there are a few compelling reasons to develop this rest spot. I will start with the simplest reason first. If you cannot rest in this position and you are competing against a lifter of the same level as you in every respect except they can rest overhead and you cannot, you will LOSE! By not having 2 places to rest, you have taken away at least 50% of your rest. This is just bad mathematics!
The second reason for developing bulletproof lockouts is so that your reps with count anywhere, in any organization. If you ever compete at an IUKL meet, all the Judges are Russian and speak ZERO english, they do however speak the international language of fixated bells and strong lockouts.

The third reason is joint health, probably should be the top reason actually. But when you hold the weight overhead it forces your alignment to improve and it also increases your static strength which increases your joint health as opposed  to dropping quickly and recklessly, this gets sketchy late in sets of heavy bells... Safer for your joints and body to always stay in control.

Here is my favorite reason for developing the overhead rest position... Breathing!! Without having 2 kettlebells on your chest cavity, you can allow full unobstructed oxygen to flow into your body! As you know, short shallow breaths elevate your heart rate, while deep, rhythmic belly breathing slows  down your heart rate and allows you remain out of the "redzone".

So how do you develop this position? I have seen people do farmers walks with 2 Kettlebell overhead, I have also seen people do handstand pushups, or perhaps extended holds over head.... I suppose these things are useful, but I am a fan of practicing like you play. If you do not need to walk around with kettlebells in competition, why do it in training? I usually prescribe the simplest method, and that is to extend the time your keep the bells overhead! I will slow the rpms down and have the lifter hold the kettlebell in the locked out position for 3 or 4 seconds... I also instruct them to make sure they breathe while doing this... You would be amazed at how many people go into freak out mode with weight overhead! So I encourage them to take at least 2 deep breathes up there... this slowly builds that position as they train... So they do not need to take up other sports to learn hand balancing techniques to improve overhead stability...
I remember hearing a guy say one time," if you want to ride your bike 30 miles an hour, then you have to ride your bike 30 miles and hour" The same type of thinking applies here also!Don't be in hurry to drop the bells.

The final reason for developing this position is, it just makes you look like a classy lifter! Fast drops can make a good rep like a cheap rep!

Will Metcalf 32kg snatch workout tuesday 8/28 8 minutes 16 rpms

Women Double Kettlebell Jerks - ICKB Class

Intro To Kettlebells by Valery Fedorenko - WKC

Top 12 mistakes you can make while Coaching yourself...

Here is a list of the most common mistakes made by people Coaching themselves....

1. Spending too much time on the internet trying to figure out how to train like the professionals on you tube.

2. Not asking anybody for help...

3. Not consistent enough..

4. Short "Sprint" sets start showing up more frequently in the training line up.

5. Skipping over the lighter bells.

6. Not sticking to anything long enough for it to really work...

7. Bullying there way through the sets, and not learning to relax under load.

8. Buying too much into the everyone is different and so everyone has special ways of lifting.. this might be true, but proper mechanics are proper mechanics...

9. Too focused on results and not focused on lifting well.

10. Ignoring clear signs of trouble, swollen forearms, ripped hands, noodle lockouts...

11. Not developing strong confident lockouts...

12. They do too many other things for training... not enough focus on kettlebells...

Scott Tighe Master of Sport part 1- 2x32 jerks 55 reps

An Offer you can't refuse!!

The WKC World Championship is a little over 2 months away!! If you are a self Coached athlete, preparing for an event like this can be overwhelming to say the least!

My offer is this, I will lay out your training sessions every week, I will review you training videos and send you detail instructions on how to fix things. You will not be getting some crazy cookie cutter program to designed to impress you academically...NO!   You will get a custom program specifically designed for your needs and goals... You will have unlimited access to me through text messaging and email for any unforeseen challenges that WILL come up!!

Here is the part you cant refuse:

If you do not achieve your goal in Chicago, you owe me nothing!! So you basically have nothing to lose... If however you do make or exceed you goals, You do owe me something... just what that is I will leave up to you! So even if you do make your goal, you decide what my help was worth.... AFTER YOU GET THE RESULTS.... 

Competing in Kettlebellsport is hard enough, do yourself a huge favor and allow me to help you! I guarantee that you will be amazed at what happens to your lifting!!

Due to the large amount of time I will be putting into these training programs, I will only be accepting a few lifters, so do not waste time if you are ready to go to work!

This is my e mail adress....

32Lockout@gmail.com 

When the numbers take over

Ok so you have some goals, and those goals have a number attached to them. Perhaps you want to make a certain rank or hit a specific number of reps with a certain size kettlebell, it doesn't matter. My point is, when trying to push for these numbers you have to be careful not to lose what got you to the level you are at now.

 I have tried to make certain levels and during my quest, the numbers take up more space in my head, technique and lifting well become less and less important... This leads to  increased stress levels and decreased relaxation during your sets... What happens is this condition snowballs rapidly... as you become less concerned with lifting well, ( I am not saying your reps have turned to crap, just kinda soften up you positions a little bit) At first this strategy works, you can get more reps if you drop it a little quicker from the lockouts, perhaps you shorten up your backswing just a touch, it's barely even noticeable... You are the only one who even knows about it!

This is called corner cutting... There is a difference between cutting corners and becoming more efficient...
Cutting corners allows you to do more in less time but your quality suffers, improving efficiency means you do more with less effort and your quality increases!

Melissa 18kg Snatch PR

SuperDtv Strength Series The Couch Don't Train This!

Scott Tighe 2x28kg Long Cycle

Comrades.. The Party is over!!

I just read this on facebook...

Ladies and gentlemen of RKC,

Due to the differences in vision between the RKC co-founders RKC will cease to exist in its current form on July 1, 2013, the day after the last scheduled RKC event.

Power by Pavel, Inc. will continue licensing its RKC manuals and its 50% stake in the RKC name and logo to Dragon Door until that date and only for the events already announced, in order to honor the commitment to the people who signed up for these workshops. Then PBP will terminate the license.

RKC was set up as a joint venture between Dragon Door and Tactical Strength, my other company, with DD providing marketing and administration and TS providing leadership and hands on instruction.

Tactical Strength, Inc., is removing itself from the RKC operation on October 29, the day after the last RKC event I had committed to teach at.

I intend to pursue my vision of RKC elsewhere, under a different name, details to be announced in a few weeks. I am sure John will do the same and I wish him best.

Power to you!

Pavel Tsatsouline

Chief RKC Instructor

 Once people saw real kettlebell lifters on youtube, the stuff these guys did just seemed foolish if you ask me...

 

It Does Matter "Warrior Workout"

Surviving the "Dry Season" of kettlebells

If you guys ever watch the Nature channell, then you have undoubtably seen what happens in Africa when dry seasean comes... Basically as you imagine nothing grows and the many, many animals die due to lack of food, water or shade. The animals that do survive, have figured out how to make things work until conditions change.
I bring this up because if you do any sport or physical activity long enough, you are most definitely going to have periods of frustration, disappointment, and reversals. Much like the dry season in Africa, you need to learn how to hang in there until things turn around.
The biggest difference between those animals and us is, we usually bring the dry season on to ourselves. This seems crazy but in my experience it is true. I have done it to myself a few times... I had a goal and an unreasonable time table... this lead to pushing harder than I should have longer than I should have and Wham... I imploded! Now the reasons or the causes can be different but if we are honest with ourselves, we pushed our luck too long!
Why am I bringing this up? Because it is a real problem and I see and hear about lifters that are cruising along great, then all of sudden they hit the wall and never bounce back... So I want to talk about what it takes to snap out of it and get back on track...
When your training falls apart, or you get injured and you can't train, you have plenty of time to think. This is a good thing. But instead of getting down on yourself and beating the crap out of yourself for failing... again, direct your attention at what drew you to this sport in the beginning. Why do you even like kettlebells? Seriously, bringing things back to that level will help put things in focus for you!.
I do know one thing, the great lifters that I have spent time with, LOVE kettlebells... Ivan Denisov LOVES kettlebells, he will be lifting then in some fashion till the day he dies! I am sure of it, Fedor Fuglev told us that Kettlebell lifting is like a drug to him!! And he was very serious about it... Valery Fedorenko LOVES kettlebells more than anyone I have ever met.. He is always making some kind of challenge for himself.. This keeps him happy, fit and strong...
I do not want to sound all mushy here, but when the shit hits the fan and you cant make any progress no matter how hard you try, go back to having fun with a kettlebell, do some light lifting, or some juggling, Go have some fun with a kettlebell and before you know it, you will be thinking about taking another run at the platform!!