Showing posts with label perfect rep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfect rep. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Improving the Squat: Reduce the threat (squat position part 2)
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Yesterday i just asked about how folks were doing with their squat position - just getting into and achieving a squat. The posts at facebook and here suggested that most folks of a healthy bent kinda think of the squat as the Big Squat - going up and down - rather than just sitting in a squat position. That's ok. The same principles apply. But right now, just being happy in a bodyweight squat position is a first start especially for folks just approaching health and fitness anew. So in this post we're gonna look at one of the higher order ways to approach a better squat: reduce the threat.
And please, once again, let me invite comments from readers to speak about your own squatting-as-sitting experience (or related squat efforts) to help shape this mini series.
Reduce Threat; enable movement
The story goes that the reason a lot of us are challenged with our squat is that we spend too much time sitting and this does all sorts of things to our tendons from tightening them to shortening them to weakening them.
Any of that may be true. But then again, maybe not. Hard to say, really *why* something happens in the body, as in really, is a muscle physiologically shorter than it needs to be to achieve this position? Or is it fine, it's just tense? or weak? or something else?
One of the things we talk about in nervous system work in z-health in particular is that the nervous system is designed to respond to one state: threat/no threat. If there's threat, we get survival mode responses which means performance for anything not related to survival gets shut down. Less threat; better performance.
Let's think about this for a sec with respect to the squat if it's a challenge.
Strength: The squat requires a certain amount of strength to let us get down under control and back up under control. If our nervous system is wired for our survival, and it has some doubt about our capacity to get back up from being down, why would it let us get into a self-compromised position?
Mobility: the squat requires a certain amount of flexibility around the joints: the ankles, knees, hips, pelvis all have to be able to move in a rather coordinated way. Note i said mobility, not stability and not flexibility - more on these distinctions here.
Balance: when a bunch of joints are moving together that requires some balance work to be involved. Balance, maintaining it, is a constant dance between proprioception (where we are in space and how fast a limb is moving), vestibular information - that inner ear organ set that's telling the body if it's upright and how to correct to stay upright - and vision. Vision is our biggest input to the nervous system to keep us oriented against gravity. There are a ton of reflexes just in the back of the neck related to the eyes to keep us upright (wild, isn't it?). So the eyes and the inner ear are working together like mad all the time, along with info from nerves around the muscles and joints to coordinate where we are. Balance is a big deal
Familiarity: The squat may be a natural movement, but if we haven't been doing it since we were little, then, it's a lot to expect that it's going to still feel natural - as opposed to uncomfortable. We're plastic people - every part of us from our skin to our brains adapts to what we do regularly. And if squatting isn't part of our movement, then that adaptation will not be a big deal for our brains. It needs to be reintroduced as a skill - just like any other skill.
And just like any other skill, if we try to do it and we don't feel super comfortable, that action itself can induce stress - which again privileges survival not performance; protection not openness. If we start breathing more shallowly as we descend into the squat, that's not a great thing for telling our bod we feel safe and happy doing this movement.
Challenge anywhere affects everywhere: arthrokinetic reflex
We've seen this before at b2d - how a joint jammed somewhere can affect performance elsewhere - we saw how cranking the head back so the neck joints were squished resulted in a weaker hamstring test, and as soon as the neck went to a neutral position, the hamstrings tested stronger again. There a physiological challenge at one point in the body which compromises performance affected performance elsewhere in the body.
Given the above list of just four issues that feed into a large movement like the squat, i hope it's possible to see how a challenged squat may have more than any one single factor feeding into it.
In other words, if there's a bit of a challenge in our ankles or pelvis mobility, if there's a bit of weakness in our thighs, or if we haven't been doing squats in a long time, or if perhaps we may have even a slight vision or balance issue, maybe that big drop down to the ground is going to be perceived by our nervous system as a threat - and for our own protection we're just not going to go there.
Dialing in Threat Reduction - one system at a time
The job of a movement assessment is to check in on these factors - have actual tests for them - and be able provide ways to deal with these factors quickly. That's an option i like cuz it's personal, fast and efficient. (Why i'm having a holiday sale for online assessments, too: see link upper right corner of page)
But since we're not looking at each other face to face right now, let's take this one step at a time.
Preflight Check: how's your squat right now?
Proprioceptive Assist:
Whether you need to do this next one or not, please try it to have the comparison.
That's a really itty bitty bunch of stuff to try, isn't it? The thing is, if our bods are perceiving threat, sometimes that's all it takes: a little thing to us can be a big thing to the nervous system to help it move out of survival "must protect" mode, and letting us take the breaks off.
If any of the above helped a bit, or better than a bit, that's great. You might also find that one thing helped and another thing may have seemingly made the squat worse - that's all valuable information.
None of the above is getting into strength or flexibility particularly - it's getting into opening up some nervous system channels to help reduce threat perception to the body. This experience of getting further or feeling smoother, or for that matter something feeling worse, i hope, shows that there's a lot going on perceptually within us, and that we respond very quickly to information shifts in that system.
This rapid response to shifting stimulus also shows us why we need to test something right away so see what affect it's having because the effect IS so immediate.
If none of these drills seemed to help, that's information too, and i'd like to hear from you about what you noticed or didn't notice after either any of these drills individually or putting them together. That suggests that there's something else we haven't hit on yet that may be keeping your body from feeling safe to take the next step.
Complex Systems. To state the obvious, the variety of responses to these protocols also shows that we're really individual. What flips the switch for one person - even someone who seems so similar to another person - may be entirely different for that other person. We are COMPLEX systems - tons and tons of things are intertwining. It's this complexity that keeps me from saying "if you can't squat you just need to do X and you'll be fine" - if i hear someone say "just stretch" one more time, well, i'll get over it. Never mind me.
Ok, that's it for today.
I hope to hear from you - or your questions - so in the next couple days we can move towards a path for YOU that will help your squat. Love yourself today as you practice.
best
mc
Related Links
And please, once again, let me invite comments from readers to speak about your own squatting-as-sitting experience (or related squat efforts) to help shape this mini series.
Reduce Threat; enable movement
The story goes that the reason a lot of us are challenged with our squat is that we spend too much time sitting and this does all sorts of things to our tendons from tightening them to shortening them to weakening them.Any of that may be true. But then again, maybe not. Hard to say, really *why* something happens in the body, as in really, is a muscle physiologically shorter than it needs to be to achieve this position? Or is it fine, it's just tense? or weak? or something else?
One of the things we talk about in nervous system work in z-health in particular is that the nervous system is designed to respond to one state: threat/no threat. If there's threat, we get survival mode responses which means performance for anything not related to survival gets shut down. Less threat; better performance.
Let's think about this for a sec with respect to the squat if it's a challenge.
Strength: The squat requires a certain amount of strength to let us get down under control and back up under control. If our nervous system is wired for our survival, and it has some doubt about our capacity to get back up from being down, why would it let us get into a self-compromised position?
Mobility: the squat requires a certain amount of flexibility around the joints: the ankles, knees, hips, pelvis all have to be able to move in a rather coordinated way. Note i said mobility, not stability and not flexibility - more on these distinctions here.
Balance: when a bunch of joints are moving together that requires some balance work to be involved. Balance, maintaining it, is a constant dance between proprioception (where we are in space and how fast a limb is moving), vestibular information - that inner ear organ set that's telling the body if it's upright and how to correct to stay upright - and vision. Vision is our biggest input to the nervous system to keep us oriented against gravity. There are a ton of reflexes just in the back of the neck related to the eyes to keep us upright (wild, isn't it?). So the eyes and the inner ear are working together like mad all the time, along with info from nerves around the muscles and joints to coordinate where we are. Balance is a big deal
Familiarity: The squat may be a natural movement, but if we haven't been doing it since we were little, then, it's a lot to expect that it's going to still feel natural - as opposed to uncomfortable. We're plastic people - every part of us from our skin to our brains adapts to what we do regularly. And if squatting isn't part of our movement, then that adaptation will not be a big deal for our brains. It needs to be reintroduced as a skill - just like any other skill.And just like any other skill, if we try to do it and we don't feel super comfortable, that action itself can induce stress - which again privileges survival not performance; protection not openness. If we start breathing more shallowly as we descend into the squat, that's not a great thing for telling our bod we feel safe and happy doing this movement.
Challenge anywhere affects everywhere: arthrokinetic reflex
We've seen this before at b2d - how a joint jammed somewhere can affect performance elsewhere - we saw how cranking the head back so the neck joints were squished resulted in a weaker hamstring test, and as soon as the neck went to a neutral position, the hamstrings tested stronger again. There a physiological challenge at one point in the body which compromises performance affected performance elsewhere in the body.
Given the above list of just four issues that feed into a large movement like the squat, i hope it's possible to see how a challenged squat may have more than any one single factor feeding into it.
In other words, if there's a bit of a challenge in our ankles or pelvis mobility, if there's a bit of weakness in our thighs, or if we haven't been doing squats in a long time, or if perhaps we may have even a slight vision or balance issue, maybe that big drop down to the ground is going to be perceived by our nervous system as a threat - and for our own protection we're just not going to go there.
Dialing in Threat Reduction - one system at a time
The job of a movement assessment is to check in on these factors - have actual tests for them - and be able provide ways to deal with these factors quickly. That's an option i like cuz it's personal, fast and efficient. (Why i'm having a holiday sale for online assessments, too: see link upper right corner of page)
But since we're not looking at each other face to face right now, let's take this one step at a time.
Preflight Check: how's your squat right now?
- By all means, check how far you can go down to sitting into a squat.
Proprioceptive Assist:
- if you have shoes and socks on, if you can take them off, by all means, do.
- rock back and forth on your bare feet. bounce on the heels a bit. roll up to the toes if that feels safe. do this a few times.
- bend over on your ankle - stay standing up straight while you do this - grab a table or chair if that helps you feel more upright - little movements is all you're looking for here while keeping your body nice and tall and relaxed.
- breath in, pause, breath out for longer than you breathed in - go for twice as long out if you can staying relaxed.
- now, try your squat again and see if either you got deeper or it felt smoother
- let me know in the comments
Whether you need to do this next one or not, please try it to have the comparison.
- After doing the above drills and re-test of your squat,
- find a door way with edges you can hang onto or a pole you can hang onto or a bannister and now letting your body feel that you're taking some of the load with your arms (that's important),
- breath in, pause, breath out slowly
- let yourself down into the squat, and come back up.
- only go to where you feel comfy going - this is all to be stress free.
- did you get any deeper? did that feel any easier?
- let me know, please, here in the comments.
Vision is a mental process. It's cognitive. We have to take in info from a lens in our eye and blend it with info from the other eye, flip it so it's upside right and then interpret what the heck it means. That's work. Practicing vision, and so reducing the load, can often open up performance.
Near Far Jumps. Here's a quicky exercise i've written about before with a zhealth video called near far jumps, of focusing close then switching focus to look far - so the eyes have to work at re-focusing and doing that as fast as possible.
Eye Position. Another one? look down while going down; up while going up. Eye position triggers those postural reflexes that helps movement.
Try that, and retry your squat. Let me knowResults? Individual
That's a really itty bitty bunch of stuff to try, isn't it? The thing is, if our bods are perceiving threat, sometimes that's all it takes: a little thing to us can be a big thing to the nervous system to help it move out of survival "must protect" mode, and letting us take the breaks off.
If any of the above helped a bit, or better than a bit, that's great. You might also find that one thing helped and another thing may have seemingly made the squat worse - that's all valuable information.
None of the above is getting into strength or flexibility particularly - it's getting into opening up some nervous system channels to help reduce threat perception to the body. This experience of getting further or feeling smoother, or for that matter something feeling worse, i hope, shows that there's a lot going on perceptually within us, and that we respond very quickly to information shifts in that system.
This rapid response to shifting stimulus also shows us why we need to test something right away so see what affect it's having because the effect IS so immediate.
If none of these drills seemed to help, that's information too, and i'd like to hear from you about what you noticed or didn't notice after either any of these drills individually or putting them together. That suggests that there's something else we haven't hit on yet that may be keeping your body from feeling safe to take the next step.
Ok, that's it for today.
I hope to hear from you - or your questions - so in the next couple days we can move towards a path for YOU that will help your squat. Love yourself today as you practice.
best
mc
Related Links
- The other side of the weight room: somato-sensory hierarchy
- bendy bits and full range of motion
- Eye position to increase strength
- Complexity is not evil
PDF
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Beautiful Swing: Franz Snideman on the kettlebell swing as a perfect move
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Wouldn't it be wild if there was one movement that gave us a full body workout? You know, went from feet to fingertips, could be used for endurance, speed, power or hypertrophy work, and was super time efficient to boot? Turns out there is (of course - the questions are a set up for that, but you'll forgive me). It's the kettlebell swing.
In the DVD Secrets of the Shoulder, functional movement screen guru Gray Cook refers to the Kettlebell Swing as "one of the best kept secrets" in training, featuring it as a shoulder strengthener. When asked by Geoff Neupert in his Senior/Master RKC kettlebell interview series summer 09 what single move he would take to a desert island, Master RKC and Denmark's Threat Modulation Coach Kenneth Jay said "the Swing." Not the snatch, not the bent press, not the Turkish Get Up, but perhaps the most deceptively simple move with a kettlebell there is: the Swing. Why?
The Swing Overview. The kettlebell swing in brief is a dynamic move that *swings* a kettlebell behind one from a deadlift position, then accelerates forward into a standing position via hip thrust forcing the kettlebell to swing up to about chest height, with arms extended. One then draws the kb back down and behind into dl position again. Rinse and repeat as it were.
Its dynamic movement really does hit pretty much everything - even the eyes and the balance system of the body. It requires good sensory-motor communication to stay well grounded, great hip work that means appropriate ankle and foot movement, too; excellent shoulder dynamics, which hits the neck and upper back movement, great grip, and overall coordination to make the movement flow.
The basic movement can be varied for speed, endurance, power or hypertrophy by changing the bell size and tempo.
Indeed, there are a lot of ugly, half baked swings on youtube, so one misses the sweetness and potency of this movement. Justice to this movement must be done. And so to that end, i've sought out the Beautiful Swing. RKC Team Leader Franz Snideman has a Beautiful Swing. It is a master class in form. Franz has been kind enough to share this swing, and some tips about it, gratis. But first, a bit about Gentleman Franz (and he is) of the RKC.
Franz Snideman - Context
Franz Snideman Talks and Walks the Beautiful Move
Thank you, Franz for your time and sharing all this. That's gold.
Franz and his partner RKC Team Leader Yoana Terán Snideman have a suite of great fitness dvds that include rope training, kb programming, fat loss and more. Yoana will have a great resource on kb's while pregnant, forthcoming. Their blogs are rich resources of more tips and techniques too, which you can access from the revolution fitness site.
Summing Up
The swing is a super full body exercise that can be used from conditioning to speed training. It's use in intervals work (on for a hard period/off for recovery) makes it great for fat burning work, too.
If you're new to KB's a great place to start is with Tsatsouline's Enter the Kettlebell book and DVD. Once you get swinging, Franz's super tips help refine that swing practice even further.
As Franz notes, though, best council, find a swing coach you trust and work with that person to help you find your beautiful swing. We just can't see ourselves. I was fortunate to have Franz look at my swing when we were at a cert together. It took about 10 seconds for him - literally - to cue my hip position to get more power into the hip drive. More efficient movement, better loading of muslces, better workout, faster progress.
It's so worth it. A session with a coach is a great present for someone you love, too (it's funny how we're willing to get good stuff for the ones we love but think it's too decadent to get it for ourselves, sometimes).
Also if you're really keen, doing the HKC one day KB cert is a great way to have a senior or master RKC work with you for a full day on the swing, tgu and goblet squat
But if nothing else, hope this interview demonstrates why the Swing is both such an elegant and potent move when well exectuted, and why owning it - different hands, weights, speeds - takes practice (and coaching). One move; constant variety, full on whole body health. What's not to like?
Update: Part II: more beautiful swings - Franz's pics for exemplary swing.
Related Posts
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| Franz Snideman starting the one arm swing |
The Swing Overview. The kettlebell swing in brief is a dynamic move that *swings* a kettlebell behind one from a deadlift position, then accelerates forward into a standing position via hip thrust forcing the kettlebell to swing up to about chest height, with arms extended. One then draws the kb back down and behind into dl position again. Rinse and repeat as it were.
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| Pavel Tsatsouline demonstrating the hike pass of the Swing from Enter the Kettlebell where the Swing is the cornerstone of the Program Minimum |
The basic movement can be varied for speed, endurance, power or hypertrophy by changing the bell size and tempo.
- Mike Mahler, for instance, years ago made much of how this simple move could be used for hypertrophy.
- The first english language peer reviewed journal article has shown how a simple swing routine in 10 minutes gives one more than standard circuit weight training for cardio work.
- Indeed, changing bell sizes during swing sets lets one do "hills" focusing on alternating speed with power and endurance in one workout.
- Moving from two hand to one handed variants works the thoracic spine and shoulder differently than the two handed for more joint angle
Indeed, there are a lot of ugly, half baked swings on youtube, so one misses the sweetness and potency of this movement. Justice to this movement must be done. And so to that end, i've sought out the Beautiful Swing. RKC Team Leader Franz Snideman has a Beautiful Swing. It is a master class in form. Franz has been kind enough to share this swing, and some tips about it, gratis. But first, a bit about Gentleman Franz (and he is) of the RKC.
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| Franz Snideman, Revolution Fitness, doing a snatch lunge. |
Franz, what are some of the attributes that make the kettlebell so powerfully attractive for you?
Well, the design of the kettlebell is the powerful aspect. The offset handle which allows you to swing the kettlebell between the leg makes it unique. I've tried swinging dumbbells and it just feels awful. Don't do it! Barbells? Forget it....you cannot swing a barbell between your legs. Kettlebells win hands down in that department.
I would also say that because of the round circular structure it allows me to training my shoulders through a great range of motion which intuitively feels so much healthier for my neck, shoulders and upper spine.
One of the biggest reason I use kettlebells is because I can eccentrically load my hip extensor muscles (Glutes, Hamstring, Lumbar Erectors and some of the adductor muscles) with more force than I could do with any other tool.
The concept of virtual force comes to mind. You can assist gravity by actively “throwing or hiking” the kettlebell in back of you. What does this mean for me athletically? It means that my muscles are absorbing a tremendous amount of eccentric force which makes me stronger and more resilient. If athletes are getting hamstring injuries I would say they need more eccentric strength in their hamstrings and glutes. I have noticed little to ZERO hamstring injuries anymore in my sprinting with the addition of hardstyle swings into my training.
When you are training, where does the KB fit into your training regimine?
Great question. This actually varies from program to program. Right now I am doing Master RKC Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Burn program which places the swings at the end of every training session. So at the moment I am using swings as interval/fat loss tool for 10 minutes three times per week. But I have had programs where my swings were first in the workout, especially if I am using a heavier kettlebell (32kg and up).
I think for newbies to kettlebell training perhaps swings should be the emphasis in their training program, at least for the first year or so.
Right. The swing after all is the foundation of Enter the Kettlebell's Program Minimum. That and the Turkish Get Up and that's it. WIth respect to training kbs with others, is there a *kind* of training you do typically with your clients? If so, what are a few attributes you'd use to characterize it in terms of speed strength, power strength, endurance strength?
My clients range from executive golfer types who want to function and feel better while golfing, mothers wanting to get lean, high school athletes, runners, RKC's, massage therapists, grandmothers, grandfathers and pregnant women. I have a very wide range of clients. Regardless of the age, and the goal of the client,I always like to emphasize the following attributes:
- Movement Quality. Can they move well and with grace. This includes a lot of postural training and coaching throughout all movement.
- Correct Asymmetries. Perhaps the client has severe flexibility issues on one side of their bodies but not the other side.
- Full Body Strength: Teaching the person how to maximize the concepts of full body tension and relaxation. Basically getting people's brains to talk better to their muscles. For many women this means teaching them to pick much heavier objects than they are used to lifting.
- Power: the ability to apply strength quickly. This is the ultimate goal. Get people powerful and fast. Real life situations and sports usually occur and very fast speeds and we do our clients a huge disservice if they cannot use their bodies in a powerful, graceful and coordinated manner. The Hardstyle Swing and Snatch definitely come to mind here. I can't think of too many exercises that would improve power more than the swing and the snatch.
Quick Aside, you and your bro are both trainers. How the heck did that happen?
My twin brother Keats Snideman (RKC, CSCS, LMT) and I took an early fascination to sports and sport training. We knew at a very young age that we wanted to work in athletics and health. And I think because we are twins we naturally gravitate toward the same things. It's actually really cool to have you twin brother in the same profession. Not too hard to imagine what we talk about when we are together.
My goodness. Well, on another trait, you are also a speed demon. How has that manifested itself in your life, and where do see that fitting into anyone's training practice?
Speed Demon?Yes, i had the honor of your towing me for sprints at the first ck-fms, you may recall. That was so awesome - i don't think i've ever moved so fast.
Wow, thanks! I have been known to blaze the 100 meter dash in a decent time, but certainly not like Usain Bolt! Well, coming from a sprinting background I am very biased toward more anaerobic type training. This includes a heavy emphasis on lower reps for strength training and power training.
The emphasis for me has always been on quality and SPEED rather than quantity. I would rather get someone really fast at 20 or 30 meters before I ever let them sprint 100 meters. Why let someone condition their body to sprint slowly? If they have no speed to endure, why bother.
Getting people to learn how to explosively contract their muscles is not easy. However, by focusing on moving faster and better the central nervous system begins to get the idea that it needs to communicate with the fast twitch muscle fibers. I can't think of a better tool than the KB to assist in this process and the HARDSTYLE KB technique is based on power production which is why it is THE WAY to go for getting people faster and more powerful.
Franz Snideman Talks and Walks the Beautiful Move
Ok now for the main feature. Here, Franz and i chat about the Hardstyle (HS) swing. Styles of swing, folks in the RKC community have said, are not unlike styles of martial arts. Hardstyle is what the technique lead by Pavel Tsatsouline in the RKC has come to be known as in the West.
I'm not sure if it's you're favorite move, but it's a beautiful move the way you do it. So let's talk a wee moment about the swing.
I'm not sure if it's you're favorite move, but it's a beautiful move the way you do it. So let's talk a wee moment about the swing.
The swing is definitely one of my favorites, right up there with the kettlebell Snatch. There are so many details to great swing technique that we could in no way cover all of the aspects in this interview. But, let's give it a shot and at least lay down some of the fundamentals and basic instructions for a powerful and graceful swing.
Franz demonstrating the swing, view 1
The first thing one needs to understand about the hardstyle kettlebell swing is that hardstyle does not mean “ugly style.”
I think there is a great misconception about the RKC style of kettlebells in the fitness industry that you have to look tense in the face and look like some bad ass MMA fighter to properly do a swing. That is not correct. Learning the RKC style of swing is not about trying to TENSE your body as much as possible. It is all about learning when and how much tension to apply during the swing. This of course is a SKILL and requires a tremendous amount of practice, coaching and correction. It will not be mastered in one day, or one year.
Franz demonstrating the swing, view 2
I am still working on my swing and I started using Kettlebells in 2002. Think of learning the swing similar to learning a martial art. Over time you learn how to take off the parking brakes and express more power. A good hardstyle swing will look quick and powerful, but it will also look smooth, crisp, graceful and beautiful.
Okay, so here is list of what to focus on during the HS swing:
- Your stance. The stance must be wide enough to allow the KB to swing through the legs. Not too wide, not too narrow. It should feel like a very athletic position for you.
- Structure and posture. It is almost impossible to coach muscle activation so therefore we teach structure and position. If you can teach someone to get into the right position you will not have to coach muscle recruitment, the muscles will naturally do what they need to do. The hard part is getting people into the proper position, that is the biggest challenge. What is the proper structure and position to get into? You must hinge at the hips and push the hips in back of you (almost like you were trying to touch a wall 2 feet in back of you). As you hinge at the hips your shoulder will come forward which means your torso will be at a 45 degree angle (at least..and sometime more).
- The spine remains straight but not upright (look at video).
- The neck position will remain as neutral as possible in the swing. There will be some extension in the bottom position of the swing but certainly not excessive.
- There will be an “active Hike Pass” in the bottom position of swing. This means you will be using your LATS a lot. Hand will be loose but the lats will be fully engaged.
- The Hips. Once the hips are eccentrically loaded then you just stand up and extend the hips. If you loaded up the hip by throwing the kettlebell in back of you, standing up will be much easier and powerful.
Great check list, Franz. Tell me some of the things that make the hardstyle kb swing important to you for your own training, and for anyone's practice?
Number one is focused effort. Few exercises allow you to focus on redirecting the scattered energies of the body and channeling them into full body hip power. One of the main reasons I (and all of us) should practice the HS Swings is to learn how to groove a very powerful hip extension. Almost all sports require a powerful hip extension to sprint, jump, twist and cut. All sporting movements will benefit from kettlebell swings.
What are the elements of a Beautiful Swing?
Great posture throughout the entire swing [please see 4 elements of efficiency for more on this point- mc]. A tall, yet relaxed neck and face. The Arms should be glued to the ribcage. The KB should be actively hiked through the legs close to the groin. The Hip “Pop” should occur first which allows the KB to literally float in the air for a brief moment. The most important aspect is that the swings looks rhythmical and smooth, yet powerful. To quote Master RKC Brett Jones, Hardstyle does not mean UGLY STYLE. Be powerful in the swing but not to the point that it looks like you are about to have a heart attack. Most of the energy is generated from the hips and core. Your face and neck are not your core.
Your swing fascinates me: it goes so fast from the bottom and hangs at the top, and then it's fast at the bottom - most of us swing with what looks like a very even back and forth, but you have this lovely double tempo.
Thanks MC! I think it's my sprinting background in which I am trying to achieve speed and that is why I go faster at the bottom. If I focus on the quick down swing it is actually easier for me to explode my hips and project the bell forward.
The secret for me is to load my hips at the last second. That means let the KB drop and then once it reaches my stomach/bladder area I quickly bend at the hips and let the lats drive the Kettlebell in back of me. It helps to wait a bit and let the bell drop and bend at the last minute. This creates more speed and power and this means more loading for the hip extensors. The secret for this tempo of swing is to first learn how to actively hike the KB in back of you and then immediately extend the hips and stand up tall.
What are your tips to achieve this swing tempo?
First is learn how to achieve the bottom position of the swing. Hips back and high in the air with minimal knee bend. Not straight legged at all but you do not want to turn the swing into a squat. You must learn to hinge from the hips and then the knees will contribute as much movement as they need to. From their I would practice hiking the KB in back of you and trying to get your arms to touch your thighs. Many people only get the hands in back of them, this is mistake. To get maximal loading you need your arms to reach way in back of you.
Besides yourself, who has a beautiful swing and what do you think contributes to that sense of it as a beautiful movement when you see *them* do it?
This is a tough question because there are so many RKC's that have great swings. I couldn't mention them all here. The following RKC's come to mind right now:
Master RKC Brett Jones
RKC TL Jason Marshall
RKC TL Keira Newton
RKC TL Delanie Ross
RKC TL Dustin Rippitoe
RKC TL Dennis Frisch
(list of links here for the above trainers)
(Update Aug '10- part II - see each of the above RKC's swing the kettle)
I have seen their swings and they are very powerful and graceful swings. Watching these instructors swing would definitely give all of us some good visual examples of what a good swing looks like.
What would you caution folks new to the kettlebell to consider before picking up that first kb to do that first swing?
I would encourage people that they need get some private instruction by the best RKC they can find. Nothing beats hands on training and learning. This is the best solution if people want to learn correct kettlebell technique.
Ok what *is* your fave kb movement and what are a few things about that movement that make it special to franz?
I personally like the Kettlebell Snatch to Lunge [shown above -mc]. You basically perform a explosive snatch and then immediately drop into a deep lunge. The drop is quick and the bell is almost weightless at the halfway point. I'll have to send you a video on this because a video would do much more justice than me explaining it.And now Franz, please say anything at all that you'd like to about KB's about, the swing, about training, and especially about why you'd get one with a kb as your tool of choice - for whom? why? or anything else you'd like.
I would recommend people to take up kettlebell training for the following reasons:
- The basic kettlebell movements strengthen all the muscles of the body in a harmonious fashion. This means more metabolic burn (potential fat loss). It also means that your body actually functions at a high level which is very important.
- Improves full body power and strength
- Improve mobility
- Cost effective / Time efficient training. Get more results off of less work
- Doesn't take up much space
- Easy to travel with
- Very versatile. There are hundreds of variations of the basic exercises that one can perform
- Delivers results quickly
Thank you, Franz for your time and sharing all this. That's gold. Franz and his partner RKC Team Leader Yoana Terán Snideman have a suite of great fitness dvds that include rope training, kb programming, fat loss and more. Yoana will have a great resource on kb's while pregnant, forthcoming. Their blogs are rich resources of more tips and techniques too, which you can access from the revolution fitness site.
Summing Up
If you're new to KB's a great place to start is with Tsatsouline's Enter the Kettlebell book and DVD. Once you get swinging, Franz's super tips help refine that swing practice even further.
As Franz notes, though, best council, find a swing coach you trust and work with that person to help you find your beautiful swing. We just can't see ourselves. I was fortunate to have Franz look at my swing when we were at a cert together. It took about 10 seconds for him - literally - to cue my hip position to get more power into the hip drive. More efficient movement, better loading of muslces, better workout, faster progress.
It's so worth it. A session with a coach is a great present for someone you love, too (it's funny how we're willing to get good stuff for the ones we love but think it's too decadent to get it for ourselves, sometimes).
Also if you're really keen, doing the HKC one day KB cert is a great way to have a senior or master RKC work with you for a full day on the swing, tgu and goblet squat
detailed overview of an HKC here
But if nothing else, hope this interview demonstrates why the Swing is both such an elegant and potent move when well exectuted, and why owning it - different hands, weights, speeds - takes practice (and coaching). One move; constant variety, full on whole body health. What's not to like?
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Update: Part II: more beautiful swings - Franz's pics for exemplary swing.
Related Posts
- Andrea Du Cane on Kettlebell Training
- Kenneth Jay on Viking Warrior Conditioning
- Dan John on the KB Press
- b2d KB Article Index
- Perfect Rep Quest series
- Full Muscle Firing for better strength and form.
Friday, June 4, 2010
One less Rep - It's ok NOT to finish a set. Really. Less is hard but can be more
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Workouts are about work, about sufficient challenge for adapatation, about getting more perfect in each step of our practice. So why so many overuse injuries? Why so many of us getting jacked up? I wonder if it's at least in part from the reluctance to quit when we need to quit? So let me all fellow workout heads ask this quesiton:
when you workout, if you have 10 reps of a set to do, or 5 sets to do, you WILL DO those reps; you will DO those sets. Even if you don't feel perfectly happy with yourself, entirely, especially if there's only three more reps, you're gonna do those reps. Or one more set, you're gonna do that set. Well are you, punk? your inner voice inquires?
Fave example: you're doing viking warrior conditioning - you have your 8 reps per 15 secs to do - ok wait, that's me, let's just own it: i'm doing VWC, these are my reps and sets, the timer is ticking, i have 3 more sets to do, the blister is forming on my hand - i can feel it - but will i quit? NO, because i HAVE TO FINISH MY SETS.
What's the Value of Having to get That Last Rep? Um, question to self: Why? Is this a competition? does someone have a gun to my head? What do i get out of a big fat crap-technique-showing blister except nearly a week off snatch practice? All i get is wow, i finished my sets. great. So what? i'm now looking at a several day hit to my training?
You know, saying this i'm thinking, this is just so obvious, isn't it? Hand starting to blister: stop. Duh. But the Duh has not been there, at least for me in the set, while the set is happening.
At the RKC II cert in Feb, Pavel Tsatsouline, frech off the research for his Power to the People Professional, gave a related lecture on old time strong man training. A big part of that was strong men staying away from 1RM work; staying fresh. This theme is nothing new to Tsatousline's training approach. Stay fresh, gas in the tank, perfect form.
And yet...
Even when i believe i'm focusing on Pavel Tsatsouline's guidance to "stay fresh" - always end the set feeling fresh rather than ever going to failure, see i'm thinking i'm not - or haven't been. Why? Because i have been recovering from what has been called an "overuse injury" - tendinopathy in the shoulder. Painful arc syndrome. What ever.
There are lots of reasons for overuse injuries: lots of reps being one of them, but usually that's lots of use that is beyond the capacity of that tendon. And what wears into overuse? Form issues? And what happens to form on the weaker side when going with the stronger side? Fatigue? And with fatigue comes injury. We know this. This is basic.
Pain is the Last Warning for Change, not the First. The ugly side of overuse injuries is that they don't show up as pain until there's been some damage. Imagine pain being like an oil gage that only tells you when there's a teaspoon of oil left in the engine: there's no funky needle showing you the oil steadily leaking out of the system. And by the time that needle is in the red, well ya know something has likely been hurt in the engine, too.
Another analogy - this time with the human body, but same "if you feel it, it's gone too far" effect is like thirst. Waiting to hydrate till we're thirsty - especially on a hot day out in the sun - is too late. By the time we're thirsty symptoms of sun stroke/dehydration have hit our systems.
Pain is really our LAST warning. And as i've written about before, from the pain literature, pain is a warning (or signal) to change. Figuring out what to change can sometimes be an issue, but in working out with weight
And in working out, it seems we need to get better at developing our early warning system. What is that early warning system? Learning to trust ourselves. How might we do that? Let me offer an example.
Test It. The other day i had a write up to do 10 sets of X for my particular routine that day. By set five i was feeling a bit fatigued. So i thought wow this is too early to quit, surely, but let me test it. So i did a fatigue test (described here) - waited my normal recovery time - and retested. Nope. Not ready. Wait, retest. Good to go. Did the next three sets, and when going to do set 9, i had to own i felt not quite fresh. Like i'd be pushing it. So i didn't push.
What's the difference between 9 sets or 10? Let's see. That's 90% of the workout instead of 100%. 10% less volume. Let's put this in context: 10 fewer reps out of 100. Once in a week. What's the performance difference? My recovering shoulder was not saying the next day "don't do that again," so i was able to go ahead with my next day's plan. Great.
For folks not doing rehab/recovery for an injury, you may be wondering what does this have to do with me? I'm going to push hard. Bien sur. No one is saying don't work hard. We have to work hard for an adaptation. Work smart and hard.
After all, has my body lost anything by those 10 fewer reps in one workout session all week? In terms of absolute total volume, sure, but in terms of adaptation, i *don't* know. My guess is, not likely. Indeed, maybe for me i just optimised my load, doing the best for me at that moment by doing a few less today than what was an arbitrary number on a piece of paper. Ranges are better than absolutes, perhaps; intensional rather than extensional.
Pain is the Last Signal, not the ONLY signal. Every workout since then i've been trying to *listen* to my body to hear the signals that are there before pain happens. Rather than ignoring them as "nothing" i've been asking "what if?" - what if this tiny tiny bit of lost form, or this teeny weeny bit of fatigue may actual be more than i want to give it credit as being?
The cool thing is (and it took me a long time to put together this simple 2+2 is 4) i have a suite of self-assessments i can use to self-test whether or not this is an "ok, just pause the set here - not even quit; just pause, do some recovery and then continue" kind of issue or a "bag it" one.
Now personally i do not test every set, every exercise, and perhaps i'll learn that that is less than optimal. Right now, what i'm testing is simply that set of question marks i would simply have ignored before and carried on to GET MY NUMBERS complete my workout.
Practicing Less(ness) - towards overuse prevention. What's interesting for me at least is that part of this practice is practicing a different perspective: letting go of the last rep. I have been consciously trying even if i feel fine going for X planned reps, just once in a while - usually at the end of the workout - to do X-1. Or one set in the block (if this is a volume day) to do a set that's half or two-thirds the no. of reps for that set.
Why? because i'm thinking it's kinda stupid to be so obsessed with getting in numbers - i'm pretty sure my "overuse shoulder injury" is not practicing a true focus on perfect quality rather than arbitrary numbers.
I may have thought oh ya i'm still fresh my form is still dandy, but my shoulder has told me something else, like "you blew it." I don't want that to happen anywhere else. So gonna listen - and lessen.
Less is Hard. Right now, i have to say, doing a set of 5 rather than 10 (in ten sets), finishing a set of 100's instead as 99's still causes a twinge in my brain. I still kinda clench my teeth, like somehow that means what? my whole workout is toast? i'm not as great as if i'd done the full count? That somehow without that weary adherence to numbers i'm a loser? can't cut it? oh dear. What would i say to someone i was coaching who was expressing such concern?
I guess i just decided i don't want to be that person anymore - who "has to do it" when there's no good reason why to do so and a potential raft of better reasons not to do so, or at least be flexible.
I'm not there yet - i'm not at a place where that less than planned sits well, but i'm working on it.
Take Aways Pain from overuse injuries shows up after the injury has happened. It may help therefore to learn to listen for other signs in the body to help suggest when actions that may contribute to overuse are happening.
There are ways to help hone this awareness - self-tests that we can leanr and practice when wanting to reality check how we're doing - lots of them in the essentials of elite performance dvd. BUT in order to hear something at all to trigger a test, speaking at least for myself, comes a willingness to do LESS than was scheduled for a day. And like any other performance skill, less needs to be practiced.
On the plus side, i'm finding that actually practicing less, learning less, has let me do more and in this recovery phase where doing anything has been a bonus, my better self is pleased with that progress.
How you doing with less is hard, but less can be more?
Related Resources
when you workout, if you have 10 reps of a set to do, or 5 sets to do, you WILL DO those reps; you will DO those sets. Even if you don't feel perfectly happy with yourself, entirely, especially if there's only three more reps, you're gonna do those reps. Or one more set, you're gonna do that set. Well are you, punk? your inner voice inquires?Fave example: you're doing viking warrior conditioning - you have your 8 reps per 15 secs to do - ok wait, that's me, let's just own it: i'm doing VWC, these are my reps and sets, the timer is ticking, i have 3 more sets to do, the blister is forming on my hand - i can feel it - but will i quit? NO, because i HAVE TO FINISH MY SETS.
What's the Value of Having to get That Last Rep? Um, question to self: Why? Is this a competition? does someone have a gun to my head? What do i get out of a big fat crap-technique-showing blister except nearly a week off snatch practice? All i get is wow, i finished my sets. great. So what? i'm now looking at a several day hit to my training?
You know, saying this i'm thinking, this is just so obvious, isn't it? Hand starting to blister: stop. Duh. But the Duh has not been there, at least for me in the set, while the set is happening.
At the RKC II cert in Feb, Pavel Tsatsouline, frech off the research for his Power to the People Professional, gave a related lecture on old time strong man training. A big part of that was strong men staying away from 1RM work; staying fresh. This theme is nothing new to Tsatousline's training approach. Stay fresh, gas in the tank, perfect form.And yet...
Even when i believe i'm focusing on Pavel Tsatsouline's guidance to "stay fresh" - always end the set feeling fresh rather than ever going to failure, see i'm thinking i'm not - or haven't been. Why? Because i have been recovering from what has been called an "overuse injury" - tendinopathy in the shoulder. Painful arc syndrome. What ever.
There are lots of reasons for overuse injuries: lots of reps being one of them, but usually that's lots of use that is beyond the capacity of that tendon. And what wears into overuse? Form issues? And what happens to form on the weaker side when going with the stronger side? Fatigue? And with fatigue comes injury. We know this. This is basic.
Pain is the Last Warning for Change, not the First. The ugly side of overuse injuries is that they don't show up as pain until there's been some damage. Imagine pain being like an oil gage that only tells you when there's a teaspoon of oil left in the engine: there's no funky needle showing you the oil steadily leaking out of the system. And by the time that needle is in the red, well ya know something has likely been hurt in the engine, too.
Another analogy - this time with the human body, but same "if you feel it, it's gone too far" effect is like thirst. Waiting to hydrate till we're thirsty - especially on a hot day out in the sun - is too late. By the time we're thirsty symptoms of sun stroke/dehydration have hit our systems.
Pain is really our LAST warning. And as i've written about before, from the pain literature, pain is a warning (or signal) to change. Figuring out what to change can sometimes be an issue, but in working out with weight
And in working out, it seems we need to get better at developing our early warning system. What is that early warning system? Learning to trust ourselves. How might we do that? Let me offer an example.
Test It. The other day i had a write up to do 10 sets of X for my particular routine that day. By set five i was feeling a bit fatigued. So i thought wow this is too early to quit, surely, but let me test it. So i did a fatigue test (described here) - waited my normal recovery time - and retested. Nope. Not ready. Wait, retest. Good to go. Did the next three sets, and when going to do set 9, i had to own i felt not quite fresh. Like i'd be pushing it. So i didn't push.
What's the difference between 9 sets or 10? Let's see. That's 90% of the workout instead of 100%. 10% less volume. Let's put this in context: 10 fewer reps out of 100. Once in a week. What's the performance difference? My recovering shoulder was not saying the next day "don't do that again," so i was able to go ahead with my next day's plan. Great.
For folks not doing rehab/recovery for an injury, you may be wondering what does this have to do with me? I'm going to push hard. Bien sur. No one is saying don't work hard. We have to work hard for an adaptation. Work smart and hard.
After all, has my body lost anything by those 10 fewer reps in one workout session all week? In terms of absolute total volume, sure, but in terms of adaptation, i *don't* know. My guess is, not likely. Indeed, maybe for me i just optimised my load, doing the best for me at that moment by doing a few less today than what was an arbitrary number on a piece of paper. Ranges are better than absolutes, perhaps; intensional rather than extensional.
Pain is the Last Signal, not the ONLY signal. Every workout since then i've been trying to *listen* to my body to hear the signals that are there before pain happens. Rather than ignoring them as "nothing" i've been asking "what if?" - what if this tiny tiny bit of lost form, or this teeny weeny bit of fatigue may actual be more than i want to give it credit as being?
Now personally i do not test every set, every exercise, and perhaps i'll learn that that is less than optimal. Right now, what i'm testing is simply that set of question marks i would simply have ignored before and carried on to GET MY NUMBERS complete my workout.
Practicing Less(ness) - towards overuse prevention. What's interesting for me at least is that part of this practice is practicing a different perspective: letting go of the last rep. I have been consciously trying even if i feel fine going for X planned reps, just once in a while - usually at the end of the workout - to do X-1. Or one set in the block (if this is a volume day) to do a set that's half or two-thirds the no. of reps for that set.
Why? because i'm thinking it's kinda stupid to be so obsessed with getting in numbers - i'm pretty sure my "overuse shoulder injury" is not practicing a true focus on perfect quality rather than arbitrary numbers.
I may have thought oh ya i'm still fresh my form is still dandy, but my shoulder has told me something else, like "you blew it." I don't want that to happen anywhere else. So gonna listen - and lessen.
Less is Hard. Right now, i have to say, doing a set of 5 rather than 10 (in ten sets), finishing a set of 100's instead as 99's still causes a twinge in my brain. I still kinda clench my teeth, like somehow that means what? my whole workout is toast? i'm not as great as if i'd done the full count? That somehow without that weary adherence to numbers i'm a loser? can't cut it? oh dear. What would i say to someone i was coaching who was expressing such concern?
I guess i just decided i don't want to be that person anymore - who "has to do it" when there's no good reason why to do so and a potential raft of better reasons not to do so, or at least be flexible.
I'm not there yet - i'm not at a place where that less than planned sits well, but i'm working on it.
Take Aways Pain from overuse injuries shows up after the injury has happened. It may help therefore to learn to listen for other signs in the body to help suggest when actions that may contribute to overuse are happening.
There are ways to help hone this awareness - self-tests that we can leanr and practice when wanting to reality check how we're doing - lots of them in the essentials of elite performance dvd. BUT in order to hear something at all to trigger a test, speaking at least for myself, comes a willingness to do LESS than was scheduled for a day. And like any other performance skill, less needs to be practiced.
On the plus side, i'm finding that actually practicing less, learning less, has let me do more and in this recovery phase where doing anything has been a bonus, my better self is pleased with that progress.
How you doing with less is hard, but less can be more?
Related Resources
- The Perfect Rep: revisiting the kettlebell front squat
- The perfect rep quest series
- Why not move through pain?
- What's going on with chronic low back pain - and possible approaches.
- Rannoch's 100
- Should i do this next set?
Friday, March 12, 2010
asha wagner: 24kg weighted pistol, pull up, press success with Greasing the Groove emphasis on Technique
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What do you say of a gal who can one arm strict military press a 24kg kettlebell, do a single leg squat (pistol) with that 24, and do a pull up with said 24kg (53lbs) tied to her waist? Anything she wants? Usual introductions, however, would be to Asha Wagner, and this post is an interview with this super athlete. Indeed, I thought this interview was mainly going to be about Asha's Beast work and her tips for other aspiring tamers, but it turns out that there's so much more to Asha's sports-person-ship and outlook on both life and athletic practice that i'm just frickin' inspired by her attitude and approach to sport. I hope you will be too.
For context, then, a bit about the deal with the three particular lifts of the Beast Challenge that initiated connecting with Asha about this piece, and how for some of us, they've become a sinecure of strength.
At every kettlebell RKC certification, Dragon Door pulls out the Beast Challenge opportunity, named after the nickname for the 48kg kettlebell the guys must use. For guys, therefore, the challenge is a pistol (one legged squat), pull up and press with a 48kg kettlebell. For women, the load is 24kg (the women's challenge has recently been renamed the Iron Maiden. No comment). There are under a dozen men who have completed the BC. And so far, it seems, two women.
Statuesque, serene and really nice fire fighter Asha Wagner is one of them. Asha won the
challenge in 2008. Not content to sit on her laurels, as it were, just for fun, she casually pistoled both a 32kg and 36kg kettlebell at the cert.
Asha kindly agreed to have a chat about her beast challenge experience, training, where kettlebells (those cannonballs with handles) and athletics fit into her life, and what an RKC certified kb (kettlebell) trainer does for fun.
Asha, would you say you've always been involved in some kind of sport or athletics?
Now to the heart of the matter: you're one of only a couple of women to have done the 24k version of the beast challenge. When/where did you pass that challenge?
Cool, no? Strength is a skill. How do ya win the iron maiden? practice practice practice.
Take away: there is no spoon; just technique, practice and enjoying the moment.
Related Links
For context, then, a bit about the deal with the three particular lifts of the Beast Challenge that initiated connecting with Asha about this piece, and how for some of us, they've become a sinecure of strength.
At every kettlebell RKC certification, Dragon Door pulls out the Beast Challenge opportunity, named after the nickname for the 48kg kettlebell the guys must use. For guys, therefore, the challenge is a pistol (one legged squat), pull up and press with a 48kg kettlebell. For women, the load is 24kg (the women's challenge has recently been renamed the Iron Maiden. No comment). There are under a dozen men who have completed the BC. And so far, it seems, two women.
Statuesque, serene and really nice fire fighter Asha Wagner is one of them. Asha won the
challenge in 2008. Not content to sit on her laurels, as it were, just for fun, she casually pistoled both a 32kg and 36kg kettlebell at the cert.Asha kindly agreed to have a chat about her beast challenge experience, training, where kettlebells (those cannonballs with handles) and athletics fit into her life, and what an RKC certified kb (kettlebell) trainer does for fun.
Asha, would you say you've always been involved in some kind of sport or athletics?
I've been involved in some type of athletics since I was 8 years old - Peewee league baseball 1 year, softball 3 years, basketball 1 year, rode the bench the entire season so I switched over to volleyball after that and stuck with through college. I was first introduced to volleyball when I was 12, but didn't start playing on a team until I was 14. Now I mainly coach volleyball for a club team here called Starlings Oakland, rock climb, and just started playing rugby.Cool. why rugby?
I've always been interested in rugby. It always looked like orchestrated chaos to me. While very physically and mentally challenging, climbing to me is more meditative than sport for me. Now, I'm joining mainly for the comraderie, to be a part of a team, and workout, suffer and celebrate as a group.How has this passion translated into a day job or has it?
I currently work as a firefighter. Firefighting is basically an athletic event.While biathletes have people skiing behind them with guns, i'm not aware of olympic events that include running through burning buildings. You are being modest. Have you or will you however take part in any of the firefighter challenges (the dragging the hose, going up the stairs, dragging the dummy, etc)?
Yes, the Firefighter Combat Challenge is one of the things I'm training for currently. Along the same lines, I'll be participating in a stair climb at the end of this month, 52 stories, full firefighting gear, breathing air from an SCBA bottle. Should be fun.To come back to the role of sports in firefighting...
My involvement in sports has been invaluable in helping to prepare me for firefighting. Beyond working out and becoming physically strong, sports helped me to develop, teamwork and communication skills, discipline, determination and work ethic.How do the above these approaches in particular to fire fighting?
In firefighting we all have specific jobs that need to be accomplished. We have to work as a part of a team. We have to able to effectively communicate our findings, actions and needs to others on the fire ground, especially when conditions change. There will usually be something unexpected that happens, and good communication and problem solving skills go a long way towards mitigating that.When not being Sport Asha, what sets your hair on fire to do?
As a direct result of the workouts I've been through, I'm used to being physically uncomfortable and gutting my way through it. When you're clawing your way with a 100 lbs on your back up a hill so steep you have to grab on to shrubs to keep from falling over backwards, it helps to focus on the moment, forget about the top of the hill, and just be determined to take one more step. That's something I learned from athletics
I also enjoy mountain and road biking, swimming, skateboarding, snowboarding, unicycling, and pretty much anything where I get to get out and move and play.
I love the arts, music reading, hanging out with friends and family, traveling, camping, puzzles and games, again pretty much anything where I get to play and have fun.Great that there's the emphasis on fun. How do you bring that to the volleyball team you coach?
With the kids it's a balancing act. I have the older group of girls in the club, the 18 and unders. I usually throw in a good amount of variety in the drills to keep them engaged. I try to make sure that I compliment as much or more than I criticize. They seem to respond well when they see the other coach and I hop on the court and let our love of the game come through.From what we talked about when we were at the Cert, you've been a volley ball player and are getting into Rugby: where do kettlebells come into this?
The other side of the coin is that we push them very hard. We have high standards and expectations for them, every point, every play. Ten or 15 years from now, they probably won't remember the scores to any of these games, but the life skills and lessons mentioned above will stay with them their whole lives. There will be practices where they are absolutely miserable, but oddly enough when they go away to college and come back to visit, those are always the ones they thank us for.
I didn't find out about kettlebells until a few years after I was done playing competitively.So what year would this be?
I played for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo '94-99Nice observation - i can imagine vball coaches taking notes.
When I was playing in college, I didn't really know what I was doing as far as weight training and conditioning, but I did a whole lot of it. If I had've known about kettlebells then, I would've been down right frightening on the court. The two handed kettlebell swing almost exactly replicates the bottom part of a volleyball approach jump. It teaches to load the hips and maintain balance and core stability through a dynamic movement. It also teaches linking the whole body together to generate power. For me, I always think of my volleyball swing originating at my toes and traveling up my body out through my arm. A more connected and flowing volleyball approach results in a more powerful arm swing. This is very similar to the kettlebell swing.
Although i just started playing rugby, so far kettlebells have helped my speed, agility, jumping in the lineouts, leg drive and core stabilization in the scrum, and most definitely stamina. I've been using Kenneth Jay's Viking Warrior Program for around six months or so and have noticed huge improvements in my recovery rate and muscular endurance. I'm very excited to add in the Viking Push Press [demo's in Return of the Kettlebell -mc] we learned about in RKC II.Have you been able to share these kettlebell protocols with your teammates? what's been their response to kb's?
I've only been practicing with the team for about two weeks now. My role for the time being, is to be a sponge, find out their ways of doing things, and learn as much as I can. I will start bringing a bell out to the pitch to warm up with a few swings before hand. If others are interested in learning, I'll be more than happy to share what I know.You've done both RKC certs now - why? Whay RKC 1? and then why 2?
I love to learn. I was hooked on kettlebells after a week of working out with them on my own, learning from videos and books. One meeting with Joe Sarti, an RKC in San Jose, improved my technique and ability to better utilize my strength.Cool. when was this?
I believe this was 2007 when Joe and I first met up. I wanted to learn more, so I signed up for the RKC I course.So this is June 2008?
February 2008Awesome.
There was an incredible wealth of information contained in the course. All of the instructors were incredibly knowledgeable and very effective teachers as well.
I wanted to learn more, so I signed up for the level II cert. Level II dissected the exercises in level I and gave me a whole new understanding of the movements and their benefits, and introduced a few new exercises that naturally built upon the movements from the one before it. Now, as I'm sure you've guessed, I want to learn more, so I signed up for the CK-FMS course in October.
Now to the heart of the matter: you're one of only a couple of women to have done the 24k version of the beast challenge. When/where did you pass that challenge?
I passed the challenge in 2008 at my level I cert in San Jose.Way to show up, Asha. What inspired you to go for it?
I like a challenge, and it seemed like a good measure of overall strengthDo you still think that it is?
Yes, very much so. While each of the exercises may seem at first glance to be upper or lower body exercises, they are all full body exercises. For instance, I start my military presses with my toes, gripping the ground, and then tense all my muscles in sequence from there on up to minimize strength leakage as much as possible.Lots of questions here: How long did you train for the Challenge? What was your training regimen for each event? Did you come to the challenge knowing that you could carry out each event? - had you tested each event in the challenge at test weight before competing?
My training for the challenge was by no means the most direct and efficient way to accomplish this goal. I guess you you could say i started training for the challenge before I even knew there was a challenge. i had been rock climbing for a few years and wanted to increase my pull up strength for that. i started doing unweighted gtg* pull-ups sets of 5-10 after every call that I went on at work. Gradually I began to add weight up until the point where i was doing sets of 5 pull-ups with a 60 lb pack on my back. this was around 3 years before the challenge.Ii started to develop a little tendonitis in my elbow, most likely from hyperextending on the bottom of the pull up, and not properly engaging my lats, and had to taper off. i still kept rock climbing with some regularity, off and on been working towards a muscle up, as well as really focusing on pulling the kb back down during military presses. That seemed to have reasonably maintained my pull up strength.Sounds cool. Do you remember when you first pressed the 24? What would you say clicked that it went up that day?
[*Note, GTG - short for Grease the Groove, a concept presented by Pavel Tsatsouline in the Naked Warrior, for frequent reps over the course of the day to develop strength in a move -mc]
The second part of it was the press. when i first started with the kettlebells in 2004, the description said that the average woman will start with a 12 kg and the average man will start with a16 kg. Me, being me, ordered the 16 kg. It sat in my basement untouched for 6 months. I could barely press the thing overhead. Then somehow I got a wild hair to pick it up again, watched the Russian Kettlebell Challenge video and used the tips in there to increase my press strength and get an introduction to the swing. The fast tens program in the winter 2005 issue of hard style greatly increased my pressing strength. Then a few years later I did the Enter the Kettlebell program and soon felt it was time for the 24 kg. While waiting for it to come I began doing push presses and cheat assisted presses holding both the 12 kg and 16 kg in one hand. When the 24 arrived, it was heavier than I thought it would be. I began doing long cycle push presses Grease the Groove until i eventually worked up to 1-2 presses every hour and after every call. This is where I met up with Joe Sarti who gave me a lot of good advice on breathing and maintaining body tension during the exercises.
I don't remember the exact day so well, but I do remember maintaining about as much body tension as I could muster.So let me get this straight: you had not EVER pistoled more than the 24, but you HAD been gtg'ing with the 12 and the 16? or mainly the 12?
For the pistol, I used pretty much the same regimen as the other lifts, GTG and adding weight over time. A couple of minor knee injuries kept me from going heavy with the pistols. In fact the most weight i had ever used for a pistol prior to the rkc was my 16 kg. I initially hadn't planned on doing the challenge that day and didn't raise my hand when they asked who was going to do the challenge. When everyone left for lunch I stayed behind, grabbed a 24 kg bell, and found I could pistol it fairly easily.
yuppers, before that day, I had not ever pistoled more than the 16 and before RKC II no more than the 24.And when you say GTG, how many reps, how many times a day would you say? and was that it? just gtg'ing? For how long would you reckon?
I'd been mainly doing 1-3 reps per leg around 6-10 times per day, 3-5 times per week. I had a partial achilles tear last year at work, so I've mainly been focusing on form and technique with the lighter weights while recoveringAlso, if you started with bodyweight pistols, how long would you say it took to get you from your first BW pistol to your 24 at the cert?
I'm not exactly sure on the timeline on this one. I think I started learning the pistol around 2 years prior to the cert. When I first learned the pistol, I wasn't even thinking of the challenge. I had read the description for Pavel's Naked Warrior book and liked the idea of being able to get a full body strength workout with two bodyweight exercises. The challenge just happened to include one of those exercises.Ok that's inspiring. Do you have a favorite event in the challenge? Which is your most challenging and/or least favorite?
Even though I had not done weighted pull ups for a while, I still felt pretty strong from rock climbing. I figured I'd give it a shot and see what happened. The pull up did prove to be tougher than I had expected. After taking the RKC II course I now realize it was much easier to maintain the hollow position with the 60 lb hose pack for pull ups vs having the kettlebell hanging around my waist. This was also long before I realized how much the hollow position and tucking my shoulders into their sockets would've helped my pull ups.
I really like all the events. Once I worked up to a full pistol, my strength increased in that one the quickest.Good to know
The press was the toughest one for me to accomplish.At the RKC II, you pistoled a 32 and a 36, i believe? and you'd like to see the women's event go up to 32kg. Could you expand on that a little bit: why isn't the 24 sufficient?
The 24 isn't sufficient for me simply because, i've accomplished it, i know that I am capable of more, and I like a challenge. I also know that having strength to accomplish this will directly translate into my work and play. When I pistoled the 32 and 36, that was more out of curiosity than anything else. I hadn't been specifically training to lift that weight. For the past two months or so before the cert, I hadn't pistoled anything heavier than 12. I had been using GTG at work, focusing on breathing, body tension and really drawing myself into the bottom of the pistol. When I pistoled the 36, I didn't want to convert it into pounds in my head before hand. I just wanted to go for it and see how it felt. With the tension and balance I had at the bottom, I instantly knew I'd be able to cleanly pistol the weight.Awesome to hear again how much form/technique plays a role in these kind of strength events. That's really cool. It's funny how sometimes when you grab a weight you just know it's going to click and move up - or not. Was it like that for you with the press when you got that?
The press was a bit more of a struggle. For me, getting my elbow higher than my shoulder is the sticking point. If I can get higher than that, then I know I have the press.What are your training tips for gals keen to do the newly named "iron maiden"
This directly translates into firefighting in that we are often called upon to lift in extremely awkward and unstable positions. Most of the things that we lift, don't have weights stamped on them. My goal is to have the balance, core stability, and generate the body tension, that will allow me to perform these awkward lifts, when need, in a safe manner.
My tips for training would be focus less on the weight and more on form, body tension, and breathing. Pavel's Naked Warrior book and DVD were instrumental for me for learning the pistol. GTG is a very simple yet highly effective routine for all three of the lifts.Just out of curiosity how was your hanging pull up at the cert?
The most I weight I used at the cert was hooking a 16 kg with a toe. I'll have to put a lot more work into the hollow position before I really test this one.Ah forgive me - i should have said hanging leg raise - could you speak to that one?
Don't you love those self-revelatory moments? So let me ask more generally, what are your current athletic goals?My hanging leg raise was less than stellar, which was extremely eye opening for me. Climbing had always done a great job of keeping my core in shape, without me really having to think about specifically working those muscles. As I took a bit of time off from climbing to let some minor elbow tendonitis heal, I neglected to continue specifically training my obliques. It wasn't until the cert that I realized how that weakness, along with my tight hammies, was limiting my strength.
Play, have fun, be healthy.Not make the rugby olympic team for 2012 or 16?
When I started playing volleyball in college, my coach used to have a row of picturesFocus on the technique not the weight; focus on the moment, not the stat. That's really potent stuff, Asha. Likely less stressful, too. And so within that frame, where do kb's fit into your regular training practice and why?on his wall of all the volleyball players that had made the school's all time top ten rankings. My goal was to get into the top ten and get my picture on the wall. After a while I soon realized that due to a lot of factors that were beyond my control, I wasn't going to get the playing time to rack up enough stats to be in the top 10. I abandoned that goal and instead focused on making the most out of the time that I was given, squeezing out every play for all it was worth. After my Junior year in college the athletic staff informed me I had the third highest single season hitting percentage in the school's all time history. I finished my college career ranked in the top 10 for single season hitting percentage, career hitting percentage, as well as three categories in the Big West Conference for that season.
So, after all that, now I just tend to focus more on making the most of the time that I'm given.
I tend to change up my main routines every few weeks or so. I like to mix things up. My body seems to respond best to variety in training. I've traditionally used kettlebells for the bulk of those routine. Right now I am primarily using bodyweight strength and conditioning routines. GTG and Viking Warrior are the two constants that are added on top of anything else I'm doing. While I tend to either plateau or get bored with other routines fairly quickly, these two routines have maintained fairly consistent benefits, and I keep them short enough where they still hold my interest.Super. thanks for taking the time Asha. All the best with your practice.
Hope this helps out. If you have any more questions, please let me know. Thanks for all your time and effort.Mein Bitte
Take away: there is no spoon; just technique, practice and enjoying the moment.
Related Links
- the perfect rep quest series
- move or die - why mobility's important
- Getting rid of crap around goals
- check "year end thoughts on RTK" for fawn friday pistoling the 24
- Viking Warrior Conditioning Review/Overview
- RTK, the Viking Push Press and Bone Rhythm
- RKC certification experience
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Saturday, February 13, 2010
Simple Ab Workout: Double KB Heavy-ish Swings for Sets
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Last night, paying particular attention to form, i think i found what's likely been 
obvious to many folks who focus on kettlebell swings:
These short heavier 10 sets of 10reps also made doing two sets of fifty swings with just one of those bells, double handed, a far nicer experience - by which i mean going to one bell let me focus far more on form than control + form simply because the sets are longer, and i can get into them more to compare and contrast what i was just doing in the heavier sets - if that makes sense.
If you give this protocol a try, let me know what you find.
For folks less familiar with kettlebells, they are an awesome tool for fitness - especially perhaps for folks not inclined towards heading to the gym. There are a bunch of posts sited below to help get an overview of KB's if you're interested.
Related Posts
obvious to many folks who focus on kettlebell swings:- swinging two bells is very different from swinging one in two hands or one, hand to hand - the stance is different, the feel is just different.
- getting bells that add up to a challenging weight can be well, challenging, physically and mentally
- Doing short intense sets (like 10) - really works the abs - especially in putting the bells down in a controlled way at the end of each set. now that's a surprise.
These short heavier 10 sets of 10reps also made doing two sets of fifty swings with just one of those bells, double handed, a far nicer experience - by which i mean going to one bell let me focus far more on form than control + form simply because the sets are longer, and i can get into them more to compare and contrast what i was just doing in the heavier sets - if that makes sense.
If you give this protocol a try, let me know what you find.
For folks less familiar with kettlebells, they are an awesome tool for fitness - especially perhaps for folks not inclined towards heading to the gym. There are a bunch of posts sited below to help get an overview of KB's if you're interested.
Related Posts
- pelvis power: getting more from swing, snatch, dead, squat - easy potent tweak
- perfect rep quest
- rannoch's 100's
- the Return of the Kettlebell series (top of post)
- interested in an intro to kb's? review of Enter the Kettlebell
Friday, October 16, 2009
RTK Heavy Press Day OWNed me: another frickin' learning experience session
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I've said that so far each session of Return of the Kettlebell has been a 
learning experience. Usually it's been about technique. The start of this latest block, it was about reading comprehension. But no matter the type of learning, the result goes to the body - and the mind.
The first time i did the RTK pressing block i did it wrong. I did it as ETK with two kb's. Even as such, double 12's for me for five rungs, five ladders on heavy day was challenging, but it didn't hurt my brain. After this last C&J block, the ETK book arrived and so in reading it from cover to cover, rather than the Plan that is on the DVD, i noticed that my interpretation of the pressing block was in error.
I have now adjusted accordingly, such that the heavy day, the final one of the week, is double 16's. Snatching two 16's - for me- is on a whole other plane from double 12's or alternating a 16 with any other lesser size doubles work, no matter the hand.
Is this my Beautiful House?
I consider that half a year ago i was struggling to press a two consecutive left arm presses with the 16 (as part of the perfect rep quest series). Now, i'm doing DOUBLE frickin' 16's with a SNATCH at the start of each rung? When i thought about it, my brain did do a bit of a tilt. But excuse me if this is being a sissy, but again, for me, double snatching 16s is an exercise at this moment as much in intestinal fortitude as it is in strength. And also mental stickiness. By five ladders were not total 5's of 5. They were (sounding like figure skating scores) 4,4,3,3,3. Owned. Toasted. Perhaps basted.
THis is so intriguing to me: gals test with single snatching the 16 for the RKC cert, yes? so we are familiar with hiking this thing back and way up, either side. But does the physics change or what at that weight in a way that is dfferent from double 12s - and if it's not 12's for you, imagine whatever your snatch test bell is or say higher bell if it is that is at the sort of top of your single pressing for reps bent. Weird. Glad only to go there once a week. But also looking forward to seeing how this feeling changes with more reps.
Forget Something?
And speaking of mental stickiness, i'd just like to know, how many people forget to squat after the last ladder rung of a set and dash to reclaim the bells before they get all the way to the ground? Hmm? is this just me?
And may i say that on heavy day, doing those squat sets with the double kb's well i can see where someone might say it will make a man out of you. But it's really the mental toughness i think because it's doable, challenging, but not a form killer. it's a nicely balanced edge, but it's also just not nice.
KB swings for in between set Active Recovery, strength and Owning My Swing.
Continuing on from the last update, i again used a light kb to get in 100 perfect swings between ladders. I focussed on form, muscle awareness and experimented with eye position and movement for what the smoothest feel was. It did not wear me out. It was great. I'm getting in 600 swings a workout this way more or less for free, alternating standard speed with overspeed eccentrics.
I'm doing this keep the heart rate up for two reasons: one, to test the this will kill DOMS theory and two to test the Cardio Between Sets Improves Strength Gains.
I make no claims here as i will have nothing to compare against my results of not doing cardio between sets. That said, i KNOW my oxidative capacity will go up - it can't not physiologically from that kind of forced exertion. So that's nice. IT's only about 12 mins worth of cardio all told, so not a biggie, but not nothing either - plus it's 600 more opportunities every other day to own my swing.
When i get to a place where a day's RTK workout is "practice" rather than "new learning experience" i'll be sure to shout.
anon.
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learning experience. Usually it's been about technique. The start of this latest block, it was about reading comprehension. But no matter the type of learning, the result goes to the body - and the mind.The first time i did the RTK pressing block i did it wrong. I did it as ETK with two kb's. Even as such, double 12's for me for five rungs, five ladders on heavy day was challenging, but it didn't hurt my brain. After this last C&J block, the ETK book arrived and so in reading it from cover to cover, rather than the Plan that is on the DVD, i noticed that my interpretation of the pressing block was in error.
I have now adjusted accordingly, such that the heavy day, the final one of the week, is double 16's. Snatching two 16's - for me- is on a whole other plane from double 12's or alternating a 16 with any other lesser size doubles work, no matter the hand.
Is this my Beautiful House?
I consider that half a year ago i was struggling to press a two consecutive left arm presses with the 16 (as part of the perfect rep quest series). Now, i'm doing DOUBLE frickin' 16's with a SNATCH at the start of each rung? When i thought about it, my brain did do a bit of a tilt. But excuse me if this is being a sissy, but again, for me, double snatching 16s is an exercise at this moment as much in intestinal fortitude as it is in strength. And also mental stickiness. By five ladders were not total 5's of 5. They were (sounding like figure skating scores) 4,4,3,3,3. Owned. Toasted. Perhaps basted.
THis is so intriguing to me: gals test with single snatching the 16 for the RKC cert, yes? so we are familiar with hiking this thing back and way up, either side. But does the physics change or what at that weight in a way that is dfferent from double 12s - and if it's not 12's for you, imagine whatever your snatch test bell is or say higher bell if it is that is at the sort of top of your single pressing for reps bent. Weird. Glad only to go there once a week. But also looking forward to seeing how this feeling changes with more reps.
Forget Something?
And speaking of mental stickiness, i'd just like to know, how many people forget to squat after the last ladder rung of a set and dash to reclaim the bells before they get all the way to the ground? Hmm? is this just me?
And may i say that on heavy day, doing those squat sets with the double kb's well i can see where someone might say it will make a man out of you. But it's really the mental toughness i think because it's doable, challenging, but not a form killer. it's a nicely balanced edge, but it's also just not nice.
KB swings for in between set Active Recovery, strength and Owning My Swing.
Continuing on from the last update, i again used a light kb to get in 100 perfect swings between ladders. I focussed on form, muscle awareness and experimented with eye position and movement for what the smoothest feel was. It did not wear me out. It was great. I'm getting in 600 swings a workout this way more or less for free, alternating standard speed with overspeed eccentrics.
I'm doing this keep the heart rate up for two reasons: one, to test the this will kill DOMS theory and two to test the Cardio Between Sets Improves Strength Gains.
I make no claims here as i will have nothing to compare against my results of not doing cardio between sets. That said, i KNOW my oxidative capacity will go up - it can't not physiologically from that kind of forced exertion. So that's nice. IT's only about 12 mins worth of cardio all told, so not a biggie, but not nothing either - plus it's 600 more opportunities every other day to own my swing.
When i get to a place where a day's RTK workout is "practice" rather than "new learning experience" i'll be sure to shout.
anon.
Related Posts
- b2d kettlebell article index - including RTK stories and Perfect Rep Stories among other moves.
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