We're having a ding and scratch sale. We used 50+ kettlebells in training the AFAA instructors today and some of them came back a little scratched or with a small ding. So while supplies last, we're offering NT500 off each kettlebell! That's right, so get them while they last!
8kg 1000 12kg 2000 16kg 2500 20kg 3000 24kg 3500 28kg 4000 32kg 5000
I'm always reaching for something higher and pushing myself further. Never rest on your laurels, says I. So I'm off to train with Valery Fedorenko of the world Kettlebell Club. Here's some of the impressive things he can do with the kettlebell.
So you can see that he's capable of some crazy things. I expect this to be the hardest cert I've done to date, so wish me luck. I plan to bring back lots of knowledge to share with you in your fitness quest! See you next week!
Check out what we've been doing in class lately:
We hear all the time from ladies that they don't want to get big so they don't want to swing the heavy weights. Here's proof that it won't happen. In fact, it's impossible! Swinging a kettlebell isn't going to make you pop out with muscles all over the place.
So grab that HEAVY kettlebell and start swinging!
This is a new DVD put out by My Mad Methods magazine. The idea was to make a DVD aimed at the BJJ/MMA and kettlebell markets.
Trainer Joey Alvarado starts off by saying this is an advanced workout. You need to have good knowledge of basic kettlebells moves before trying this stuff. This is a welcome change since a lot of DVDs are aimed at the beginner market. It's nice to see something a bit more advanced.
He introduces a bunch of new moves with the kettlebell based on basic BJJ/MMA principles like getting up off the floor, applying triangles and armbars, using a combat stance instead of a square stance for kettlebell moves, etc. You can get the flavor of what he's doing here:
As you can see, the moves are MMA-ish so you can clearly see the relationship but not overly complex. He stripped the moves down to basics in order to use them for fitness and I think that was a wise move. Some of these videos IMO try to make stuff too complex. And this clip above is actually more complex than anything on the DVD. He didn't put any flow like this on the disk, which is kind of interesting.
The DVD starts with an intro to the moves and I think there about 15 or so. I didn't count them. For an advanced DVD he surprisingly advices not to use a heavier kettlebell and after seeing the moves, you'll understand why. Moves like the combat clean can only be done with a lighter bell because of the whipping motion on the technique. I wouldn't want to try that with a 24kg.
After the moves are introduced, he gives beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts based on rounds. Beginner rounds are 3:00, intermediate are 4:00, and advanced mirrors the UFC's 5:00 rounds. Each round is a circuit for that time with a break in between rounds. Alvarado takes the new moves and alternates them with traditional kettlebell moves. So in the circuits, he'll do one of his moves and then a traditional technique, then a new one, etc. I liked this format because it makes the workout less gimicky. But then looking at the clip above, I'm wondering why at least one flow all based on his moves wasn't out on the DVD.
My only complaint about the DVD was that the workouts are buried under the exercise section on the DVD menu. So you have to scroll through all the techniques just to get to the workouts and that's kind of annoying. Making those a separate selection of the menu next time would be a better idea.
This DVD is a solid buy for someone looking to expand their kettlebell workout options. It's a nice blend of new and old techniques that would challenge most anyone.
You can pick it up here: http://combatkettlebellsystems.com/
I've switched my program to focus on building up my body for the kettlebell sport lifts. Push press is a great exercise on that path and this is a really good tutorial for it. Enjoy.
I have a few left of our older model kettlebell in weights of 24, 28, and 32kg that I need to sell off. I'm dropping the price by NT500 for each size: 3500, 4000, 4500. I only have a few if these models and only in these sizes. Get them while you can! Thanks.
We just had our fourth kettlebell certification in Taipei this past weekend. Here are some pictures from the event:
Congratulations to our new coaches! Anyone that wants to get trained or certified should drop me a line. We'll be scheduling our fifth cert soon and we'll have details on our level two certification coming up!
The range of movement you can do with kettlebells is opening up. The clips above and below show some of the newer ways that people are using these innovative tools.
Many women shun the heavier weights, often for reasons I don't understand. Swinging a heavy kettlebell won't give you huge muscles. It WILL give you fantastic results. Heavy swings tone up the butt and legs like nothing else. Watch the clip above. These are some of my clients swinging the green 24kg kettlebell. Notice that they aren't huge and they can do it. So can you!
Don't let fear stand in the way of you getting results!
I need to make one thing clear: trainers that want to join our kettlebell cert should look more at our youtube page. We've done something that no other cert has done: made the process almost completely transparent. The clips below show exactly what you need to do to pass and for how long. Nothing is held back. If you can do the techniques below like that for that length of time, you'll very likely pass (I omitted squat, clean and overhead rack for the sake of brevity).
I'm not one to change techniques all the time and surprise participants with something new. I don't think that's fair to the coaches and trainers. I want to help you succeed as much as possible by keeping the techniques basic and consistent, and testing coaches for a fair but useful amount of time. With that in mind, smart trainers that want to join will study the following clips carefully to look at what they need to do to succeed.
Swing
Clean and Press
Snatch
Push Press
Jeremy completed our 300 kettlebell challenge last night and cut 5:00 off his last time. He completed the challenge in 18:30 and it took him 23:42 last time. congrats to him! He works hard and shows what it possible if you try! He's lost a ton of weight along the way.
If you're wondering what the 300 challenge looks like, here is world champion Lorna Kleidman doing it:
As you can tell, it's not a light-weight challenge. Doing something like this once a month or so can be a tremendous motivational tool and can let you know if your training is working or not. Try it out and let us know how it goes!
I did this for the first time yesterday. Take a look. I had never attempted it before so I'm pretty happy with the results. They went easier than I thought they would so I did another just to be sure. Haha. Always get your stuff on video. You never know. Maybe next time you won't be able to do it!
If you want results like this, come see me.
Great opportunity!
I've decided to run another certification specifically for English speakers (I normally give the cert in Chinese). I'm specifically looking for foreigners or English speakers from south of Taipei to join.
I'll run a separate cert on a day we agree to and certify the participants to teach kettlebell fitness. This will be a great opportunity. It will be cheaper than coming to Taipei multiple times to train with me (you only need to come once) and you can go back with the skills and authorization to teach others. If you're teaching English, this would be a great way to start a fitness career. In the cert, I teach you HOW to teach others.
The reason I'm wanting people south of Taipei is that southern Taiwan has NO kettlebell instructors at this time and I'd like this type of fitness to spread down south. You could be the first to get certed and start teaching!
Contact me for more information and let's get started on your new career.
We had our second Kettlebell Taiwan certification yesterday. Congratulations to our new coaches! They worked hard and earned the right to be coaches. Below are some of the tests I put them through. They have to perform with the kettlebell without putting it down for time. Take a look.
Swing
Clean and Press
Snatch
Push Press
You need many qualities to become a trainer. But for kettlebell training in particular, the following three are very important. These are the things you should look for in a trainer, or if you want to become one then you should develop these qualities.
1. Kettlebell technique
This is of paramount importance. You can't hurt the client with poor technique. If all the other pieces are in place but this is off then nothing else matters. You have to be able to demonstrate proper technique in order to teach other people how to do it. And I don't play politics here. Kettlebell trainers love to argue minutia about techniques but the important thing is client safety. If the client is safe then the technique is likely valid. Whether or not a world champion uses a different technique is irrelevant.
2. Work capacity
This is a big pitfall with trainers. Just doing a few good reps with the kettlebell isn't enough -- you need to be able to do hundreds of correct reps straight. For male trainers, there really shouldn't be anything you can't do with the 16kg kettlebell. You should be able to swing it for at least 5:00 straight and do 100 snatches, cleans, etc. This is the capacity that the kettlebell trains. We're all about strength/endurance and trainers should have that quality. They should be able to show solid results with the kettlebell. An "I can't do it today" attitude isn't going to cut it. Kettlebell skill is about what you can do EVERYDAY, not once in a while when you feel like it. I can tell right away from just a few moves who really uses the kettlebell and who doesn't. Look for a trainer that has trained themselves to use it well.
3. Programming ability
I can change my workouts on the fly and you want a trainer that also knows how to program a workout given any limitations or special circumstances. BTW this is probably the Holy Grail in kettlebell fitness. Programming isn't widely taught or understood. It's an art form and few master it. I've learned through trial and error what works and doesn't. Beginning trainers can rely on programming by others but they should be doing their homework to understand WHY and HOW that program works. I can look at a program and usually understand just by looking at it what it's supposed to achieve and for whom (assuming the program is clear). You ideally want a trainer that can program that for you.
So use these three attributes as a guide and you can't go wrong.
Most people don't realize that holding the kettlebell overhead for a period of time is actually a core workout instead of an upper body one. Oh sure, you have to stabilize the shoulder and there are carry over benefits to the upper body, but the core gets worked hard. That's because you have to stabilize the mid-section in order to hold the kettlebell up.
And there's the alignment of the bones one over the other all the way down the kinetic chain to consider. Whent he bones sit one on top of the other, you can actually take an active rest in this position. People that don't train the kettlebell can't understand this, but it's true.
For proof, look at this clip of a Russian women's competition. Notice that they rest in the overhead rack position.
Overhead rack is a potent tool in your tool box. Use it often and skip the crappy crunches.
I've got so much going on with various projects that I'm not sure what to post. Too soon for many things. Here's the last workout I did for some motivation:
1:00 KB one arm swing :30L/:30R
:30 rest
1:00 alternating dead clean
:30 rest
1:00 push press :30L/:30R
:30 rest
1:00 sumo pull
:30 rest
x4 with one 24kg KB. It's a heck of a way to spend 24 minutes. Try it out.
I'm back from the level 2 and I'm new and improved LOL. Steve gave us lots of new material including doing deep jump squats for ELEVEN SETS with everything up to the 28kg kettlebell. Good thing I was doing deep jump squats already or I would have been toast.
I reached a new benchmark in double press by pressing the double 28kg kettlebells. In fact, I pressed them five times not....ahem....counting that one missed rep that almost saw me losing control of both bells. But hey, four steps forward one step back isn't bad. I couldn't get them out of rack before the cert! I guess it was just being there and having everyone stare at me while I was doing it. I didn't want to lose face LOL.
I got to meet lots of great folks and had a great time in general. The people you meet is the best reason to go IMO. Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable trip. See you next time!
I'm off the level 2 cert today in Hong Kong. Looking forawrd to it! I'll be coming back with lots of great tips and more training to put you guys through. Expect some tough days when I get back. And wish me luck! :)
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