RKC Prep Update

Been a while since I have updated everyone on how Nikki and I are doing for our preparation for out Russian Kettlebell Instructor Certification in San Diego, CA on Aug 28-30th.

2 weeks from today we will be on a plane for the west coast. I have been a little on edge lately. Don't think I have been this nervous for anything in my life. State wrestling was one but I was too young and naive to understand the ramifications of what I was about to accomplish. First day of college football and my first day of working at a Division I football school was nerve racking as well. My wedding I was a giddy nervous, I couldn't wait to get married to the love of my life.

I guess when you are so committed to a system (that being the RKC) you really want to not only pass, but perform very well.

If you are interested in seeing what the instructor certification requirements are, click here.

Our instructor Dave Whitley gave us some very encouraging words, he said basically that he feels that we have prepared well and are ready. Anything we need to improve on or "clean up"with our technique should be cleaned up during the certification. All we need to do now for the next 2 weeks is to maintain what we have and don't do anything to jeopardize our performance (example: tearing up our hands, pulling a hamstring, and so forth)

That is all for right now. I will definitely try and blog once or twice down in San Diego depending what is going on and give you a recap after it is all over and done with. I would love to be able to announce in 3 weeks that you are now speaking with Mark Snow, RKC and Nikki Snow, RKC!

The Dane of Pain Visits Nashville

We are so very fortunate to be working with David Whitley, Senior RKC not only because he knows so much about Hardstyle methods and Kettlebell Training, but also because of all of the people he works with within the RKC community. They are a very tightly knit group.

This past week, David brought Kenneth Jay, Master RKC to our Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp since he was in town for an upcoming workshop in Atlanta. Kenneth showed us some amazing things including Z-health drills for improved mobility of the feet/ankles, knees, and spine. He also re-introduced us to the viking push press and we performed 10 rounds of 36 seconds of reps on each side. What a workout. We learned a lot about the Viking Push Press and how it is actually more of an explosive workout for the legs if done correctly. The trick is to let the bell come down fast and when your forearm makes contact with your body, then and only then do you absorb the force by bending your hips and knees to allow yourself to rebound the KB back to overhead.

The following morning during bootcamp, Kenneth was so gracious as to have Nikki and myself come with him and practice the fundamental RKC movements. The Swing, Get Up, Snatch, Clean, Press, & Squat. He provided us with some wonderful feedback on some things we can do to clean up our movements. It truly is a blessing to have David and his RKC's to work with. If you are interested in kettlebell training, find an RKC. If you are training for the RKC instructor course CONTACT an RKC and have them clean up your technique. It could be the difference between passing and failing.

If you are interested in learning more about Kenneth Jay. You can find him demonstrating exercises in the Return of the Kettlebell book and dvd with Pavel. Kenneth has also written his own book titled Viking Warrior Conditioning. Both are terrific reads!

Bootcamp for Thursday June 18th

Nikki was in charge today as David watched. She did a terrific job!

Circuit: 45 on/15 off
Jumping lunges
Plank
T-push ups
Alternating rows

Then split into groups and did 5 round of the following. One person went right after the other:
20 swings
5 burpees
80 yard run down and back

Very tough workout!

Kids, Kettlebells, and Athletic Development by Jeff O'Connor

When training young athletes there is always a problem of “fitting it all in”. Most of the middle and high school (off season) programs in my area have weight room time and footwork/running/jumping time, usually on separate days. Most of the coaches in charge of these programs are well intentioned, but unfortunately have very little knowledge on teaching basic movement, strength and athletic development skills. Even those that do know what and how to teach still face the problem of limited time.

Something that I have consistently seen is that during high school a kid’s biomechanical indicators and injuries increase together. This tends to coincide
with a decrease in performance. It’s not necessarily something that happens 100%
of the time. But is an alarming trend I’ve observed. There is so much focus on 40
times, vertical leap, bench, etc. that testing has become a sport of its’ own. We spend too much time preparing to pass the test, and not enough learning the subject. It frustrates me to see the amount of concern there is on how much a kid squats rather than whether or not he or she can squat properly. Telling a kid to squat more and squat lower without teaching them how is like telling them to solve an algebra
problem before they’ve learned to add and subtract.

There is too much emphasis on weight and reps and not enough on mechanics. Too much time is spent teaching how to generate force without ever teaching how to absorb it. When do we see most injuries occur, when someone takes off running, or when they stop and change direction? How does a kid get better at their sport? Usually
they get better by playing it, not by sitting on the bench because of a preventable, non contact injury.

Now, I don’t want to give you the impression that the kids I train don’t
perform barbell lifts. They do, and they lift heavy and hard. But not just for the sake of lifting heavy and hard. It’s done as a part of their overall athletic development, not just because it’s a “weight day”.

So, how do we fit it all in? We probably can’t, but we can consistently try to work
on all aspects of athletic development. Strength is an important part, but it is not
everything. Ultimately, it’s coordination that will determine an athlete’s performance. From my own standpoint as a trainer the reason I have kids squat is to reduce injuries and play better. I’m far more concerned with that than actual poundage because in my experience the guy with the highest lifts is seldom the best player.

You may have seen this coming, but my answer to this problem is the kettlebell and the RKC hardstyle training method. Why, because it is quite simply the best teacher of body mechanics and the best tool for filling in the gaps left by most
strength and conditioning programs.

Also, the portability and diversity of the kettlebell make it perfect for
putting strength and athletic skills together in the same training
session.

The question always comes up, “When do you start kids with kettlebells and where
do they fit into a program?” The answer is when the kid is ready and the right teacher is available. It is not when a kettlebell is handy. Keep in mind we’re talking about kids here. Whether it’s a second grader or a high school All-State player they are not elite athletes and cannot be trained as such. We have to keep their ability to focus consistently in mind. Semi-sumo deadlifts with a kettlebell are appropriate for almost any age. Bent press and snatches are not.
At this level we need to focus on the development of skills and preparation for
the next level of play. Obviously different ages, skill levels and what that next level of play may be will determine the direction and intensity of training.

Another answer to the “when” question is, “as soon as possible”. By this statement,
I don’t mean that swings are a good thing to start a 5 year old with. The reason I
want an athlete to train swings is that a properly performed, hardstyle swing will do
more for strength, endurance, and movement efficiency than almost everything
else put together. The Turkish get-up will handle most of the rest. Please take note
that a “properly performed hardstyle swing” is not the same as mindlessly letting
a kettlebell go back and forth between the legs. Don’t teach it if you don’t understand it. If you’re not an RKC or at least trained by one, you probably don’t. I didn’t, and I’d done thousands of what I thought were
swings before attending the RKC.

Athleticism is a combination of multiple skills, of which strength is one very
important component. The goal of this article is to help you integrate movement
(not sport) specific strength training into an athletic skill set sequence. It begins with seemingly different drills in a static setting that are gradually “layered” into a game speed training complex. Depending on the
age, physical and mental development of the athlete this progression could take five
sessions or five years. The sequence would be very much the same for a division 1
athlete as it would be for an eight year old. It just takes longer for the eight year old. The most important thing to remember when training kids is that they’re not just short adults. Developmentally two thirteen year olds can be light years apart. Let them advance at their pace not yours.

If you want to read the rest of this article with skills and movement drills go to:
http://www.dragondoor.com/pdf/hard-style.pdf?afid=SGHP

If you are interested in learning more about using kettlebells in the Nashville, TN area, email David Whitley, Senior RKC at irontamerdave@hotmail.com or visit www.irontamer.com. To learn more about Kettlebell training in the Talala, Oklahoma area email Jeff O'Connor at jeffoconnor@totelcsi.com

Quest for RKC-Week 1 of 16

Just wanted to let everyone know that it is official. Nikki and I have signed up for the Level 1 Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Certification on August 28-30th in San Diego, CA. If you are not familiar with Kettlebells or the RKC, click on the links to find out more information.

We decided that we would take the time to shoot some video and pictures of our training every week as we build up for San Diego. Feel welcome to comment on our status and ask questions or if you are training for the RKC yourself, let us know what you are doing. Would love to share training ideas with all of you out there. Here are the Instructor Certification Requirements for RKC Level I.

We are very fortunate enough to have Dave Whitley, Senior RKC instructor working with us 3 times a week at our bootcamp we attend to make sure our technique improves and that we are on the right track for San Diego.

This past week at bootcamp we concentrated on swings (of course) but David threw in some special twists for Nikki, Jay and myself. We worked a lot of double swings this week which gave the swing a interesting twist and really pushed us harder than we expected. Dave also had us perform a 10 minute snatch test this week. Nikki did a wonderful job and got to 200 with a 16kg. I made it to 163. Good start but needs improvement, and I was pretty much smoked by minute 8.

Our training on our own we decided to work towards improving our strength in the press and the turkish get up. We always perform TGU's on Mondays and have decided to perform press ladders 3 rounds of 3 rungs each side with a light weight to see where we are at. We felt very good this past week so we are going to move up in weight and perform the 3 rounds of 3/3 again.

Sports Performance Bootcamp Begins June 1st

Just an FYI for all of you readers in the Nashville area who have teenagers that need to get ready for the upcoming sports seasons. My Senior RKC instructor (Russian Kettlebell Challenge), Dave Whitley, is hosting a Sports Performance Bootcamp this summer.

• 6 week program
• 2 workouts per week
• option of morning (tues & thurs 7am) or afternoon (mon & thurs 4:30pm) workouts (or mix and match)
• program designed to increase strength, power, explosiveness and durability
• includes functional movement screen before and after bootcamp to measure improvement on movement deficiencies

For more information you can check the link I have on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=83196437792 . If you are not a facebook subscriber just email me at sghumanperformance@gmail.com and I can send you a flyer.

To sign up please contact Dave Whitley, Senior RKC at irontamerdave@hotmail.com

Friday morning bootcamp with Dave Whitley.

Warmup always

Circuit for 2 rounds of:
Goblet squat to overhead press
1 arm rows
Rear foot elevated split squat on picnic bench
Burpees!

30 on, 15 off-switch sides if on a single limb exercise.

Next abdominal circuit of: hot potato, thoracic rotation, cherry pickers & prone plank 30on/10off

Last and never least, kettlebell swings: 25on/15off. 6 rounds.

Everyone have a terrific weekend!

Wednesday Bootcamp 4/8

Beautiful day today here in Nashville. Great for Nikki and I to head off to bootcamp and get our sweat going. Dave took us through a very tough workout tonight.

Began with RKC warm up of Neck ROM, shoulder and arm circles, the pump and spinal wave

Squat ladder in 2 groups resting in down position

-Alternating side 1-1, 2-2, 3-3

-Rest

-Alternating sides 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4

-Rest

-Alternating sides 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5

VO2 snatch training for 10 minutes 15 sec R arm/15 sec rest/15 sec L arm/15 sec rest (goal of 8 reps per side)

Ended with 4 rounds of swings for 45 seconds, then performed 40 yard jog/walk down and back began next round in 1:15.

Bootcamp for Tuesday, April 7th.

It was a cold day in Nashville today, but Nikki and I bundled out and were very pleasantly surprised to see that Ashley, Sue, Melissa, Lesa, Gina and Keith all came out in the cold early morning to workout with us.

Dave took us through a very good workout and we warmed up quickly.

We warmed up for 5 minutes with Neck ROM, Shoulder Rolls, Arm Circles, Spinal Wave and the Pump all for about 30 seconds.

Then we all got a kettlebell (moderately heavy) and went to a picnic table. We performed the following for 3 rounds. (30 seconds on, 15 seconds rest)

• Split squat with back foot elevated on picnic table R leg
• Split squat L leg
• Push ups (either feet elevated on picnic table, regular push ups, or with hands elevated on picnic table)
• 1 arm row Right
• 1 arm row Left

Next we performed a set of swings 30 second on/15 seconds off for 8 rounds with a heavy kettlebell.

Terrific workout!

Remember if you are looking to learn more kettlebell exercises and especially those that help to make you more powerful and balanced for working out and sports there is a Kettlebell Workshop, Friday May 8th. Get the details at www.irontamer.com or email Dave and irontamerdave@hotmail.com.

Friday 4/3/09 Bootcamp Workout

Tough workout today so I thought I would share it with everyone.

Circuit ran 45 seconds/45 seconds/45 seconds then rotate to next station with a 45 second rest

Did 4 rounds. Matt & Dennis did a good job on this one!

Group #1
1 arm row R
1 arm row L
Plank

Group #2
Half kneeling press to TGUish stand R arm/R Leg
Half kneeling press to TGUish stand L arm/L leg
Kettlebell swings

Group #3
Forward Lunge R leg(I did the Prisoner lunge like Sandy Sommer would say)
Forward Lunge L leg
Push Ups

Everyone have a great weekend!

Alwyn Cosgrove's Can a Trainer Help with Results?

Alwyn always backs up what he says with some good science.  Here is a terrific article that helps people to understand the benefits of a workout partner or personal trainer/group exercise instructor.

I know that I have benefited greatly from Nikki and I working out together as well as working in a group setting in our KB Bootcamp Class.

http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/2009/02/can-trainer-help-with-results.html 

Our Success Roadmap

Our RKC, David Whitley, asked our class if we would like to participate in a sort of "contest".  Being the competitive couple we are we absolutely said yes.  It is actually pretty cool, almost like a fantasy football league but for our bodies.  We get points for weekly and daily tasks (see below) and then at the end of the week our top score is 101 points.  the person with the highest point total gets a "prize".  Nikki had a perfect score of 101 this past week.  I had a 98 (not bad).  In all of this competitiveness I ended up losing 4 pounds in the process.  Very cool.

So get a group of your friends together and figure out a diet scheme and put a point total on it.  Don't do "total pounds lost".  That is stupid, and usually not fair.  If I lose 20 pounds but put on 10 pounds of muscle then I would only lose 10 pounds on a scale.  Strive for something better.  Overall what the contest does is makes you accountable to make good decisions about your health.  

Here are the totals for daily points in our little contest:

• eat at least 5 meals per day 2-3 hours apart (1 point)
• have a protein and a vegetable with every meal (1 point)
• Attend KB bootcamp that day (3 points)
• Review your short and long term goals (fitness, life, health, whatever) 1 point
• log food into a food journal (2 points)
• took a multivitamin (1 point)

Other ideas on point totals could be:  burned more calories than you ate that day, ate within 100 calories of your calculated daily total that you need to eat, 

Weekly point options

• Plan meals ahead of time for the week (10 points)
• Cook food in bulk and package for quick preparation (10 pts)
• Set a personal record in your workout (achieve 10pts, attempt 5 points)
• try a new healthy food (10 points)
• Log onto the nashvillekettlebell.ning.com and talk about your goals (10 pts)

Other options for the week.  Of your total meals (35) you ate a cheat meal less than 4 times that week.  Never eat more calories than you burned that whole week.  Did something nice for a stranger.  (the sky is the limit!)

Getting Started with Kettlebells

If any of you might be interested in getting started with training with kettlebells there are a few options to consider.

1. The best option is to look onto Russian Kettlebell Website and search for instructors in your area where you can train with the best.



2. If #1 is not an option you can also purchase the Men's Russian Kettlebell Quick Start Kit &/or the Women's Russian Kettlebell Quick Start Kit. The package includes a kettlebell, enter the kettlebell book (a must have) and the enter the kettlebell DVD. The Women's starter kitgets all the above but they get the new Kettlebell Goddess DVD instead of the enter the kettlebell DVD.

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions, Nik and I are always here to help and if we cannot answer the question we can pass it on to our RKC, David Whitley.

Shoe Selection

Hey everyone. Hope all of you are doing well this new year. Been pretty crazy on my end. I have been working on a presentation on the Functional Movement Screen for the Tennessee Athletic Trainers Society and have been having some software and computer problems.

Upon the idea of shoe selection, any Physical Therapist and Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) will instruct you to go to the runners store and get measured and fitted for a very good pair of running shoes. At least they should, the off the shelf brands aren't for everyone, many different people run in different ways. (And please stay far far away from Nike Shocks, its like you are running in high heels! BADBADBADBADBAD

Does anyone tell you what type of shoes you should wear to lift in? I learned the hard way from my RKC (Dave Whitley) and it was reinstated to me when I read Enter the Kettlebell by Pavel that any type of running shoe or workout shoe with a high heel is no good for lifting for a few reasons:

• The heavy padding takes away from your "proprioception" or balance. The proprioceptors in your body help to communicate to the rest of the body on where your body is in space, lets just say they are muffled somewhat when you have shoes on with a padded heel
  
• They take away from you using your biggest muscle, YOUR GLUTES! Think of it as this, if you come up from a deadlift or squat and are on your toes coming up you cannot fully initiate your glutes. You need to be able to drive force through your heels when performing squats and deadlifts, not the toes.
  

Your glute muscles are very important to your body and provide stability to your spine and lower body. As a society we suffer from "glute amnesia" (due to the fact that we sit all the time and do not use our glutes like we should, hence all the ankle, knee and back problems I see in therapy that are usually fixed with flexibility and good glute training).

I know, I know. Now you have to buy ANOTHER pair of shoes, but it will be worth it. I changed shoes and hit a new personal best on my snatch test on the 2nd day of training with them. You don't have to spend a lot of money actually. Pavel likes to wear Converse Chuck Taylors, Nikki and I spent $30 each and bought a pair of indoor soccer shoes, alot of RKC's wear Nike Free brand shoes. If is has a flat sole and is comfortable, then you are set!

From this day on if you walk into my clinic for therapy and you are not running that day, I will ask that you workout in flat soled shoes or I will have you work out in socks or bare feet. It makes a very significant difference when training and even in rehabilitation. As for running shoes, stick to running/walking in them. When its time to work on strength, take them off.

Mark Update

March 2nd, 2008

December 19th, 2008

Just a quick little post to let everyone know how my training is going. For those of you who like to read what we are doing in bootcamp, I will post those as soon as I get time (I know I am behind).

My weight is right at 200 pounds, lowest I have gotten is 198. Not discouraged with what the scale has said due to the fact that my body fat is down 2% since starting kettlebell bootcamp. You know what that means: less fat & more muscle.

No longer wearing XL shirts since they just hang off of me, down to L. Pants are all to big for me. Energy level is doing great. Still eating healthy and trying to get a lean protein and a vegetable or fruit in with every meal. Trying to cut back on processed carbs unless it is right before or right after a workout.

Getting very nice compliments from everyone at work, and my biggest compliment is the sexy looks I get from my wife who enjoys looking at my arms and lats now. Very cool. I feel stronger than I have ever been in my life.

• Pull ups are easier,


• I just cleaned and pressed a 28kg kettlebell with my Left arm and snatched the same weight as well on both sides last night before class started.


• I can do a standing full squat below parallel without cheating.


• My FMS went from a 14 with imbalances to a 17 with no imbalances.

You should see my wife! She is so strong now! Our little "wrestling matches" when I used to dominate are now getting to be more evenly matched. Her strength has sky rocketed in only 9 weeks.

I will have to admit that I am a lifer to Pavel's Hard Style of training. Thanks for opening my eyes David....and for transforming me from a piece of mush into a piece of iron.

Kettlebell Bootcamp #27

Wednesday Evening Class 12/17/08

I know it has been awhile since I last posted a bootcamp. Sorry about that. Things are really taking off for us here.

Warm up included the spinal wave, side lunges (push knee out to side you lunge and point opposite foot to ceiling), body weight squats and the pump.

Began our workout in high gear with a circuit of push ups, body weight squats, snatches on L side, snatches on R side, and v-ups. Then repeated for 3 rounds. ( I am guessing we did around 30 sec each session). THIS WAS AN AWESOME WAY TO START A BOOTCAMP!

Then we revisited the ABdominal Snowman! Hot potato with KB, thoracic rotations with KB, sit ups to double arm overhead lockout with KB, and planks. 3 rounds of that as well at 30 seconds a pop. (I will try and get a video of this ABdominal Snowman, it is a killer workout)

Then we did swings with Tabata protocol, 20 sec on/ 10 sec off. About 10 rounds.

TERRIFIC WORKOUT. I FELT LIKE I HAD 2 CANNON BALLS IN THE BACK OF MY SHORTS, BUT IT WAS JUST MY ASS GETTING KICKED.

Kettlebell Bootcamp #22 (Newbies are coming on strong)

More newbies today that I brought from work.  All are very strong willed, female certified athletic trainers.  All will do well if they stick with it.

Had 12 total participants today in the morning class, no problem for Dave.  

• warm ups including the "spinal wave"
• split into 4 groups of 3, each group had one station: v-ups, push ups, squats, and renegade rows (in deadlift position) for time, 19 seconds rest in between sets, did 3 rounds
• then the carousel of pain, everyone grabbed a different sized kettlebell and we did swings for time 30 on/20 off and rotated to the next kettlebell.  Smallest size we had was a 12kg to the largest being a brand spanking new 28kg kettlebell.   very impressed to say I saw 2/3 of the class swing with the 28kg, while the others did deadlifting with it.  Remember, out of those 12 people, 3 were men.  So don't believe that bullshit that women can't or should not lift heavy weights!

Going to do a post later about making a financial commitment to your health.  You either pay for it now and enjoy the benefits, or pay for it later and be miserable.  Either way you end up spending money.  How much is your happiness worth?

Kettlebell Bootcamp #21 (Always good to start back from scratch)

12/3/08: Very good bootcamp today and all we did was the swing and turkish get up.

There were 5 new people who had little to no knowledge of the kettlebell and its exercises tonight. David introduced all of us step by step how to perform the kettlebell deadlift (essential to learn the swing), the kettlebell swing and the turkish get up.

We practiced right along with the newbies. You would think that Nikki and I would get bored, but I learned some new cues to improve my technique on my swing and especially my turkish get up. I found out that I was not performing the first part correctly and it actually made my getup more productive.

We ended up doing around 6-7 rounds of swings as well in 30 sec on/ 30 sec off. Had the heartrate monitor on today and still got the HR up to 175. And burned over 350 calories.

Kettlebell Bootcamp #20 (Week 7)

Sorry I have missed a couple of workouts. Nik made 2 workouts last week and I made only 1 and we had a short week due to Thanksgiving.

• Warmup including spinal wave and the pump.
• Split into 2 groups and did alternating ladders of goblet squats with the other group resting in the bottom of the squat, and push ups with other group resting in the top push up position (plank like hold) - did about 5 rounds
• Stayed in groups and performed clean to press ladders with other group resting
• Again stayed in the 2 groups and performed kettlebell swings for 30 seconds while other group rested. I believe it was 10 rounds
• 40 minutes later and 513 calories we were finished and exhausted. Great workout

Kettlebell Bootcamp #18-Another Snatch Day

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! If you ask me I would term today's bootcamp is "get your ass kicked by the kettlebell snatch Friday". Dave was back from his travels and we spent the whole session practicing the snatch technique from the single arm kettlebell swing, to the "snatch pull" (as Dave termed it), then to the last part being the end of the snatch position.

We practiced by:

• single arm swings 2x5 each side
• single arm snatch pulls 2x5 each side
• swing, to snatch pull, to snatch (then repeated full snatches x5 each side)
• snatches 1x5 (with a hold at the top anywhere from 5 sec - 20 sec)
• Lastly we did a snatch interval where we did 7 minutes of either continuous snatches, holds at the top of the snatch position, or swings. Our goal was to never drop or set down the kettlebell.

40 minutes later we were beat and the Heart Rate Monitor read 500 calories. Awesome day!