Sunday, November 8, 2009

Las Vegas

Many words could be used to describe the weekend: fast, stressful, rewarding, grueling, illuminating etc. The Ice Chamber if I am correct produced its first Master of Sport Jessica DeBiase. (Spelling?). Congratulations on the longcycle. Now its time for Biathlon.

As for me I repeated the same performance in Chicago by the numbers. Thats another story entirely.


I hadn't had stable training I felt.

Surya missed by but a few. I know what thats like. :) Train more and get higher numbers in the gym.

Cate Imes didn't compete but I know she will get to it sooner then later.

One of my newer students and local resident Lisa Balash competed and came close to CMS.



ITs a good experience that she will learn from. One of the take aways from competition is that like any thing else, performance takes experience and ultimately patience. Performance also requires a realization that 90-95% of a PR is the likelihood in a competition. This occurs more commonly at the Master of Sport and beyond level.

Chris D is closing in on Rank I. I know he will it get soon.

Congratulations to Eric St. Onge, the first Canadian to achieve Candidate Master of Sport if I'm correct.

Congratulations to Australia and Ukraine for producing a CMS and MS respectively under the World Kettlebell Club ranking.

Congratulations Lorna K for achieving national records.

Thanks to Moses, and many others who helped with the set up/tear down(I thank myself for that too) and the AKC for putting it on.

It almost seems that an MS or several will be produced a for national and international competitions to come.



Great effort from everyone in attendance and achieving your respective ranks. Its a stepping stone to the next level.

I look forward to Atlanta Dec 5th.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Busy busy busy


A lot of things going on.


First:
This most recent meet at Malcolm X college, I enjoyed the national anthem sung there. It represents culture in a competition.
Second
I also want to thank the contributors that set up the meet and worked hard to keep things running smoothly.
Third
Thank you for the cheering section. Its always good to have enthusiasts watch and cheer for enthusiasts.

Here is a clip of the Chicago meet. Long Cycle Set 49 Reps



For one, there are many kettlebell lifters out there and many kettlebell trainers out there. If you're interested in kettlebell foundation workshop or a kettlebell meet email me at uskettlebelllifter@gmail.com. I'm starting a Newsletter about events, several months down the road and monthly.

As of right now, I offer online consultation. just email me at the address shown above.
15% is me and 85% you when it comes to coaching.

As for a Fitness Certification License I'm available to certify specific groups or general Fitness Consultants. Same Deal, email me and we'll work from there.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Consultation Services for Kettlebell Sport Competition Preparation

Kettlebell Lifters,

The grueling training of kettlebell lifting to progress has several paths to achieve various rankings Valery's methods will stay with you your entire career should you choose to progress to the best level that you can.

When I started this sport I did 12 reps with 2 24kgs and 0 reps with 2 32kgs. If you follow the program to the letter and train hard, you will get the results.

I will provide in my service:

1. Identification of your goals
a. short term
b. long term

2. Program feedback and recommendation of your program.
a. Send your weekly results and based on those I will highlight your program on a week by week basis.

3. Technique refinement
a. the more the better: Send me videos on youtube of your technique and I will explain what the inconsistencies are.

The program is simple but the best for results in your kettlebell lifting performance.

I've had several individuals come to me for program advice but I think since I am training also that my time is very limited.

People in Team America do not get charged. For AKC certified coaches I'll offer 70% discount on online consultation and AKC trainers 50% discount.

The online consultation fee is as follows:
will be $ 99 dollars month.

It will be month by month or

3 month package 279

The payments will be done through paypal and the advice will be conducted through my email account.

Check out the new vid!!
3minutes long cycle set

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Too busy for words: Revamping an old concept called work

For about the last two years I unlearned mechanical habits that wreaked my grip and the skin on my hands. I also learned how to properly accelerate the kettlebell in the most efficient way possible in all the lifts including the press;) Efficiency means more bang for the buck in terms of spent energy. This is true with any thing. It is called skill.

The techniques with regard to the athletes cover the entire spectrum of fitness. The safest technique is used because of the proof, and that proof is the athletes lift the most weight (we are talking about kettlebell as a tool for fitness ) for the most reps for the longest time and the fastest rpm. The point that is missed is that people discuss about different exercises. The other proof is that unlike other professional athletes, these guys have lengthy careers in the kettlebell in terms of ability to perform despite the aging.


Do I sound like a broken record? Probably so but I will continue to. Cate's blog on INTENT hit a lot of key points about the perception of high level athletes and making presumptions about these athletes which could prove to be accurate or inaccurate. Its mostly the latter myself included.

The biggest obstacle was the ego. It prevented me from unlearning habits. The other point missed is whether "my technique is right or wrong." Its about percentage. If your technique has 80% of the skills that a high level athlete has then you are on the right track. If its 20% then you need to change something.

When I met Valery I had a lot of habits and there were contributing factors.

a. I had been into kettlebells for long enough time to handle 32 kgs. To try to learn something new with a difficult weight is virtually impossible. To change technique(locking the finger for example), I went back to the 12 kg. Guess what, it didn't "feel" right. Big surprise. In my limited experience of teaching, new people are no more difficult to teach the swing then someone who learned from a non high level athlete. If anything its easier to teach newbies. (broken record).

b. As I picked Valery's brain, I found myself questioning technical advice particularly how it felt. How many of you out there have often said. "Its not for me." "I have my own thing" bla bla bla. Its not easy! I know how you feel more then you know how you feel ha ha. And by the same token Valery, Denisov or Fuglev (to name a few) know much much more about it then I do.
My ego held my learning back.

c. Now for the big secret to success.

Its work. I know that doesn't have the "sizzle" that people would prefer but that is two fold.

1. Never stop learning from the best resource that you can.
2. Never stop working.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Events in June

Military Kettlebell Competition
When: June 13th 0830 registration and weigh in.
Where: WPAFB Wright Field Fitness Center (Area B)

June 20th American Kettlebell Club Coaches Certification NY, NY

June 27th

North Carolina Fitness Trainer Certification
- Aspects of Wellness/Fitness
- Employ proper lifting protocol to safely achieve best results for fitness in record time. Learn appropriate warm up cool downs
from a Kettlebell Athlete.

For all of the above email me at Uskettlebelllifter@gmail.com

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Certification June 27th



Click on "submit"

Certification









Email me at Uskettlebelllifter.blogspot.com
Location OuterBanks, North Carolina

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Air Force Competition!


Get ready!

The registration is nothing but the requirement is military. (Air Force). There will be a competition in November between all services!

Jun 13th on a saturday at 0900. Weigh in is 0830.

Event Listing

Choices are as follows:

Men

Bitathlon(32kg, or 28kg or 24 kg or 16 kg or 12 kg))
Longcycle (32kg or 28 kg or 24 kg or 16 kg or 12 kg)
One Armed Longcycle(24 or 32 kg or 40 kg)

Women

Biathlon (8kg or 12kg or 16 kg or 20 kg)

ONe armed Longcycle (8 kg or 12 kg or 16 kg or 20 kg or 24 kg).


email me at uskettlebelllifter@gmail.com for your event by Jun 1st or sooner.

Here is a link with regard to the Ice Chamber and competition Ice Chamber Competitors

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

a More scientific look


Physiolocial adaptation personally

I know this is not scientific

I ran 8:48 1.5 mile. Probably could run 5:00-5:30 mile and run 2:15-2:30 half a mile. It is not the best.
Deadlifted 405 at 150 lbs 5'11" and one armed deadlift 282 ramping it up(but failed at lockout).
Did 12 pullups with 50 lbs at the end of a workout. took a combat class overwhelmed kids my size in submission with brute force and ignorance which is not safe and un-recommended and isn't saying much because they were my size.
We were the same in experience and size. I can still rep the CoC two with no training.
I have 117 cholesterol and my family doesn't have a history of good cholesterol. My heart rate is lower then when I was swimming. Not paying attention it got down to 42. My bf is around 12 %. Sounds high but I am not a bodybuilder.
31 years old

As far as age...

I watched a 48 year man in 65 kg weight class out perform a 20 year old Russian (109-110? jerks against 103) so the age correlation is difficult. I will say this. You develop a base that is somewhat easy to come back to. The higher you get though, the harder it is to come back but it is still easier to come back then the first time around. But I don't know if that is knowledge based or physiological or both.

Scientific sort of
One of the tests is hooking up an oxygen mask to measure how many calories are consumed during and after. Supposedly it is somewhat accurate. There is a human performance study in the AF with kettlebells, the first of its kind. Its public information.

Testing 1.5 mile run
push ups/sit ups
grip endurance
Vo2 max with treadmill/oxygen mask.

My own take on application of kettlebells to sports

Mechanics of explosive elements of lifting of maximal and submaximal

I was able to recover barely with one light set a day and worked up to several in a day after about 6 months. I increased my ability to recover in general from consistency of strength-endurance with kettlebells. General physical prepared-ness or GPP.

If I had to directly compare kettlebells to carrying over to a sport it would be wrestling and or crew. Lot of similar movement and energy systems.

I suspect the muscle fibers used primarily are the type IIA, not the type II(fast twitch) or type I(slow twitch) when doing strength-endurance. Also note, the range of motion in the jerk is the same as oly lifting in depth of legs. The only time a deep squat is required is for a clean or a snatch. Also note that jumping in volleyball or basketball or any jumping the depth of the squat prior to the jump. I suspect it is similar to the depth of the squat required for jerk. The motion is different slightly and differs at running vs standstill.

It had been explained to me that Elite athletes in oly lifting take .9 seconds to execute a snatch. Thats why I don't buy into "more explosive" with the same poundage. More explosive implies more speed with same mass. You either execute it with speed or without. What makes it seem "faster" could be a number of things such as reduced ROM aka 9 o clock snatches or simply frame.

How kettlebells may help Strength athletes???

I can see them helping strength athletes actively recover(indirectly).

The best measure of an athlete is the ability to recover

Endurance

I was once told that an endurance athlete in biking does not dominate the runner and vice versa by a PHD in physiology. Since Kettlebells work different muscles they too would help but I notice based on the combat instructors commentary that the superb runners(faster then me) were winded after 45 seconds on the mat when it came to submissions.

I suspect MMA requires strength-endurance quite a bit more then we realize. Take a fighter and train him on some of the fitness protocols(GPP) in addition to his training and see. It would be interesting. This also brings me back to my statement that strength-endurance is its own thing.

More studies need to come about with kettlebell athletes (Valery's level or almost his level).

Monday, April 27, 2009

Igx post about non inflammatory question:non inflammatory answer attempt

Those of you curious I want impart a few things about this test. For it to really work we need everyone training the same things to get an accurate picture and have the same background.

Since I'm considered a kettlebell purist by a few I'll impart my experiences.
This is what I believe based on my experiences to be the case.

Comparing a press to a jerk in this test is a flawed logic.

Here is why.

Simple, I'm not training the press. I real test would be to train a kettlebell press to figure out how that would apply to barbell. Now let me delve deeper? What is more functional? a Press or a Jerk?

What is more athletic in the requirement? If I had a fighter what would I train him with if it was one or the other? Which is healthier on shoulders? I'm not sure press is my first choice. I would still incorporate it but I have to talk to a trainer about that;)

I haven't done a heavy dead lift in forever but I can see some carry over. However, I still would recommend deadlifting to get better at deadlifting.

Here is the entire situation, not realizing strength-endurance as its own category and trying to fit the mold of testing strength or endurance.

If your argument is military press with a barbell then do kettlebell presses and see the results. Not kettlebell jerks.

The non inflammatory question is trying to point out a weakness in only doing jerks and snatches for time in the press.

Of course there are weaknesses!

One is explosive and one is not relative to each other. You do not want to press more by doing jerks alone or snatches alone for that matter :D

I'm acknowledging that they don't do everything and thats the problem with variety in this country. We try to incorporate everything and become experts at nothing. I don't mind coming out and saying outright that I would not be able to press 135 for a boatload of reps. However, if I had pressing in my diet that would be something interesting. Also look at the different lifters bodytypes You need an unbiased category of newbies with the same weight and dimensions.

Do I mind trying the test? No. I can do it but whats the point? Its not a right and wrong but a frame of reference.

Thank you for reading and don't hesitate to ask questions!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

VIDEO of Longcycle

It is 37 reps in 7 minutes

6,6,5,5,5,5,5.

I roared on rep 36. Someone(a girl) was tampering with the clock and no one knows how easy it is to roar while doing this unless you have done it;) It was mostly involuntary. I swear;)

Either way every time you do a lengthy set, its war!

Video

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Air Force Competition


What: Kettlebell Lifting Competition.
Where: WPAFB (more specifics)
When: June 14th


More Details to follow.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Arnold Expo

Biggest meet in history, period. I was plainly shocked about a lot of upcoming kettlebell lifters in all weight classes.

My performance though was a public best fell 6 reps short of my in the gym best. I have two things to do: 1. get a higher total (60+) and show up only recently before my lift. It was good experience.

Out of the 100 I would say that I knew 20 or so people there. It is a mark in history. Great times. Stay Tuned for Long Cycle training videos to be posted. One is a 6 minute and another a 7 minute.

Cheers.

Got to go back the training hall.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

One Arm Deadlift Video

Enjoy the video

I use a hook grip

One arm deadlift

The first

is 90 kg

The second

is 110 kg

the third

and failed attempt

130 kg

Regards.

There is change( a 10lb plate on each side but its ok.). I will do a 140kg one arm deadlift successfully in the near future. These are fun.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Arnold < 2 weeks

The excitement is palpable.

Kettlebell lifters from all over will partake it what I think to be the biggest US Kettlebell meet in history.

Totally separate from this competition I will start video taping my sets more. I have a video of a 6 minute set for 5 rpm for 30 reps LC in 6 minutes.

The other day for a demo, did 32 reps in 5 minutes. I felt ok for the set.

"getting comfortable with discomfort" is right on specific to changing the pace that we are used to. Dropping slightly back on the duration and amping up the pace is not a natural feeling. But ultimately it brings us to the next level.

Stay tuned for videos in the very near future.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Video from The EDGE Seminar

End of the Day Set

Seminar at the Edge!







Great potential. Ross Gilling before kettlebells is a high level Rugby player if you haven't checked out his background.
In Long Cycle he is coming up strong with a 35 reps 5 minutes PR with 2 24kgs. Everyone did very well in picking up the technique. Stay tuned. There will be a certification forthcoming at the EDGE and a Kettlebell meet. The date is TBD.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Upcoming Events


Feb 7th and 8th

NC seminar on perfection of kettlebell lifts.

www.fighttheburn.com/assets/marty_farrell_flyer.pdf

Kettlebell Seminar



First Human Performance study in history of the military will involve kettlebells.

There are two groups.

One was a poor fitness category:

The other was a Medical Evacuation Rescue Team

Tests include(before and after) Vo2 Max, grip strength, aerobic capacity, bf composition,
since the study took 1.5 years to write and approve it will be good to finally see the results of kettlebells and their fitness program.

March 7, 8th is the Arnold Championships

March 14th
Kettlebell Trainer Certification course
Tampa, Fl

This is tentative.

May 16 will be the Air Force Kettlebell Competition.

Chair Press
Long Cycle
Traditional
Snatch Only
OALC

Stay Tuned!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wellness? or appearance of Wellness.

This is a slippery slope.

Why?

We have a plethora of ways to test wellness but it isn't perfect.

So I'll just use a requirement. Military wellness is the ability to perform a task in less then optimal circumstances.


The military and their job has a requirement. There is a series of tests done by the British military and one is a sand band loading test which measures work capacity. Not endurance, not absolute strength.

Another example is a medical evac crew or firemen have to carry a load under duress be it enemy fire or heat or just a feeling of panic.

Valery said it best when it comes to "natural reaction" and the tests we have in place in the military encourage natural reaction. Go as fast and as hard as you can until you inevitably wear out. Unfortunately in life and death this happens and for good reason. You want to survive.

Since kettlebell lifting introduces a very similar component to oly lifting about speed and a start/stop it reinforces athleticism.
The way athleticism is reinforced is the kettlebell lifter is relaxed and then uses a pulse of tension to explode The time between relaxation and explosive power becomes less and is reinforced through repetition; to the point where it is second nature. The phosphogen energy system(used for max effort) is used when each repetition of a jerk or snatch is performed. Not to a full extent but a little at a time.

Mobility is increased! Supporting or using fixation. The ability to relax is increased which saves energy until that moment to explode and then relax. Using the frame to hold the weight will increase joint strength and ultimately reduce risk of impact related injuries.

Mind you I was talking about military requirement. But the average person would like to hear things about joint mobility and relaxation. Sitting in a chair all day creates tension in the back and tightens the muscles out of balance such that the joints bear the brunt of bad posture. It becomes a question of when.

People also like to hear that they can equal 2 hours in 7 minutes of kettlebell lifting in terms of calories

Everyone on the planet is competitive to some form or another. I won't lie, its partly responsible for why I like kettlebells. But the health rewards from it are awesome. Back to competition, get someone who finds out they are really good at something and they will like it.

How does competition relate to wellness? If you are not well or ready it could be bad. Intramural sports are a big thing where I am and a lot of people compete(just for fun). Right.

A man overweight played softball and broke his femur running to first base. It was probably the first time he ran in a matter of years. He was made an example of in safety. Didn't have strong bones, good work capacity. Had weak joints. Sounds cocky but it could have been prevented.

People would rather have healthcare then health. They don't care about their health so as long as they are insured. It has thus become a nation of sick care rather then health care.

************************************************
Other aspects of wellness: connective tissue.

What is interesting about compound movements is that that use a great amount of connective tissue then isolation. My friend who was an Elite level powerlifter that went to Oly weight lifting of all things talked about bodybuilders not extending full ROM.

With kettlebells we rely on full ROM for rest positions and let joints take on the weight FOR TIME.

If you are merely someone who wishes to be healthy and reduce risk of injury that is fine.

If you are a competitive wrestler, grappler fighter, connective tissue matters and applies.

Fedor Emelianko, the most well rounded fighter IMO doesn't have that beautiful 8 ab stomach.

This fight on youtube is a great example of what we perceive as "hard" vs "soft." Tense versus relaxed.

On a general scale do you want to train in parts or as a whole?

Mark Coleman against Fedor part 1

Mark Coleman against Fedor part 2

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Upcoming Seminar in 3 weeks

Just a heads up on a few things.

March 7th,8 is the Columbus Kettlebell Lifting meet at the Arnold Expo.

February 7th is a kettlebell seminar

Here are the details.

See you there!


Kettlebell Seminar

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