Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wed, Oct 31st, Kettlebell Classes CONTINUE!


  Life is back to normal today and the rest of the week.  Get yourself in here for a good workout tonight! We all missed 2 days of training that we have to make up...no excuses...

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tues, Oct 30th, Kettlebell Classes Canceled

Kettlebell Class is canceled for tonight.  No power so far at the office.  Plan on trying to make up the classes between Wed and Saturday of this week, by trying to come more than once in those 4 days.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Stay Tuned: Kettlebell Classes For Tomorrow, Tues, Oct 30th

    I am not canceling KB classes tomorrow yet. And hopefully, if I need to, I will still have power. If I don't, and some of you want to come (or don't have power yourselves to receive an email), then call my cell phone to check individually.  It will stay charged so that I can use it if I need to.  So before you leave to come to kettlebell class tomorrow night, check your emails, and call me directly if you need to confirm.

   My cell is 443-742-1224

No Training Tool is Best....Variety is Key!

Just like I hate with people treat an RKC  as the "God of Kettlebells," I don't approve of people limiting their training methods to only kettlebells.  I obviously think they are wonderful and practical tools for fitness, or else I would not teach their use or operate a blog surrounding them.  However, there are plenty of other tools at your disposal, and all have their strengths and weaknesses.  One of my favorite training methods is the use of the major powerlifts to build some SERIOUS strength.  Nothing builds a strong body better than a heavy deadlift.  And nothing builds carryover strength to your daily lives than a heavy deadlift.  Period. 



All you people out there with back pain, learn to deadlift.  Even a partial deadlift in a power rack will be a great start.  In fact, many years ago, the partial deadlift was called the "health lift," because it was believed to be the single best option for improving the overall health and function of a person's neuromuscular system.  But don't kid yourself either.  When you look around the gym, rarely do you see people deadlifting.  And those who do, often do it wrong.  Some people will tell you they don't deadlift because it can be dangerous, but the reality is, most people don't deadlift because it sucks.  Most people take the easy way out, because deadlifts are hard.  Of course, I don't think you want to be like most people though....weak and out of shape...do you?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Cancels Monday, Oct 29th Kettlebell Class!

The weather reports look like things might get ugly around here because of Hurricane Sandy.  As a precaution for all of our safety, I am canceling kettlebell classes tomorrow, Monday, Oct 29th.  Stay safe...

Friday, October 26, 2012

WOD- Cardio 4

 Saturday, 10/27/12

21-15-9    (complete for minimum time)

Snatches
Burpees
Compare to 7/27/12

Monday, October 22, 2012

Posture Matters More Than Anything Else

Posture is everything.  Your body has to obey the laws of physics, and as such, the forces acting on your body position can alter and permanently deform your posture if left unchecked.  Look around and you see it everywhere.  Heads slumped forward, shoulders rounded and internally rotated, lumbar spines flexed forward, and hips tucked beneath us in a retroversion.  Then, these same people make committment to improving their health and fitness by starting a strength training program, and hurt themselves.  And even if they happen to escape injury immediately, their training performance and progress is thwarted by the inability to create a stable foundation underneath their exercises.  So ultimately, your posture will determine you risk of injury, training progress, and exercise performance.

So if you are one of the many people around you who have poor standing and seated posture, here is some corrective exercises you can starting incorporating in your training.  This video focuses on head, shoulder, and thoracic mobility.  You need to bring the head up and back, drop the shoulders down and back, and extend the rib cage upward, while stretching the front of your shoulders and chest, and strengthening your upper back.  A big part of this whole equation is preventing forward internal rotation of the shoulder in its socket.  Enjoy the video and get started with corrective exercises.



Friday, October 19, 2012

WOD- Max Effort 3

 Saturday, 10/ 20/12

Directions: Over the course of 3-5 sets, work up to the heaviest weight possible for each exercise assigned.  Post your max weight in the comments section for each exercise.

Clean and Jerk - 5RM (Max weight for 5 repetitions on each arm)

Snatch -  5RM (Max weight for 5 repetitions on each arm)

Thrusters -  5RM (Max weight for 5 repetitions)


Compare to 7/20/12

Monday, October 15, 2012

Rant Time!

So a few posts ago, I asked for suggestions from readers as to how I can make this blog more interactive, useful, and entertaining.  An anonymous poster has given me the great idea of using it for expressing my personal views, beliefs, and rants!  This person, actually 2 people, commented on my video of my 40kg turkish getup. (If you would like to familiarize yourself with the comments regarding this video, click here.)  Both of these people have 2 things to say. First, because I did not lower the bell slowly after each rep, I was in danger, and therefore, my performance of the repetition was "dangerous."  Second, because I did not follow the dogma of the RKC, I am not equipped to teach kettlebell training.  So, now that you got the background on my video and these 2 anonymous poster's comments, here goes my rant!

On more thing beforehand though. It needs to be said that anyone wishing to pick apart my technique, training, and teaching methods should provide some background as to who they are!  It seems to me that any wackjob could have posted that, and I'm willing to bet that neither one of them have anywhere near the experience and training I have in strength and conditioning training.  That being said, lets look at the 2 premises they provided.

First, if you have ever tried to floor press or TGU a heavy bell (over 24kg), you are familiar with the large amount of torque placed on the shoulder and elbow if you try to slowly externally rotate the bell away from you when you are finished the rep.  It seems to me that a very safe and obvious way to avoid that damage is to fluidly allow the bell to drop to your side as you move out of the way.  Since the bell is dropped a merely 2-3 inches, and I am moving away from it as it falls, I am in no danger whatsoever.  In fact, when you have as much martial arts training as I, doing this becomes second nature.  Furthermore, both these jokers are quite arrogant to assume that I teach others to lower the bell in the same manner during a turkish getup.  Of course, the THOUSANDS of people that I have trained over the last 13 years would surely confirm that I always encourage perfect technique and control, especially when you're a novice lifter.

Secondly, I HATE the dogma that surround the letters "RKC."  I have a bunch of pretty letters as credentials around my name too, but I certainly don't claim to arrogantly be the standard for all kettlebell exercises and techniques.  I have both met and trained with Brett Jones, and while he is a nice guy, I certainly do not cling to his every word or movement as if it were gold.  Let's be honest, RKC is just a kettlebell certification marketed by a BUSINESS, and like any business that explodes in an untapped market, it has the luxury of proclaiming it to be the most genuine and perfect expert.  Why?  Because they don't have much competition!  In the last 2 years, a few more certifications from rival businesses have popped up, each claiming they are the primary expert on the subject of kettlebell training.  The truth is, none of them are perfect, nor do any of them have omnipotence over training and techniques.  All of them have something to offer everyone, as we all are on a continual quest to learn and improve our own training.  What I do works for me.  And so far, how I teach others has also worked for me, AND them.  I will continue to learn all I can about kettlebell training, and pass along what I can to my students, all while encouraging them to use what works for them, and discarding the rest.  Bruce Lee had it right when he said we must all search for our own truth in training.  And while dropping a 88lb kettlebell 2 inches may not be supported by a dragondoor RKC, it worked for me! The results speak for themselves, as I do not know of another trainer personally who can perform such a feat, all while making it smooth, safe, and near effortless.

Gotta love the controversy!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

NO CLASS TOMORROW MON OCT 15th

    I am back from my 4 day long competition in Connecticut, but am exhausted, injured, and sick.  Yvette and I did great, we both set several personal records.  Our team did great too, placing 18 out of 40 teams.  We did not expect to place that well at all, and we had incredible performances on a few of the workouts.  I got a lot of video recordings and pics of us competing, so look for them soon on the site and on facebook.

 I am taking tomorrow off to recover, so no kettlebell class tomorrow evening (Monday, Oct 15th). I will resume teaching on Tues, Oct 16, at 6pm.

Friday, October 12, 2012

WOD- Cardio 3

 Saturday, 10/13/12

Complete reps for minimum time (20 minute time limit)

5 Getups each side
20 Clean, squat, press on each side
30 Suitcase Deadlift each side
40 Snatches each side

Compare to 7/13/12

Monday, October 8, 2012

Please Provide Feedback in the Comments Section

I really want to learn how to make this blog a great resource for everyone.  So far, it has been mostly me posting information, videos, links, and my personal thoughts on topics related to kettlebell training.  However, I also want this blog to become more interactive, with people providing comments, feedbacks, and suggestions.  At the bottom of every post, there is a link for you to make comments.  If you have ideas, comments, suggestions, etc, please either post them, or email them to me.

Here are some things I am currently working on posting regularly:

1)  weekly routines, including videos and text descriptions
2)  commentary and links on cutting edge training topics
3)  links and information regarding resources, seminars, merchandise, etc...especially locally
4)  info on practical applications for kettlebell training and exercises
5)  rehab and injury prevention uses for kettlebell training
6)  videos of current kettlebell classes and individual participants
7) personal videos of myself and my wife training
8) uses for kettlebell training in sport
9) cutting edge research regarding the effectiveness of kettlebells for fitness training
10) other methods of training that are great adjuncts to kettlebell training (powerlifting, strongman, olympic lifts, plyometrics, etc...)
11) Historical topics in kettlebell training (many things popular today are not new...history repeats itself!)

Please provide any other ideas to make this a great interactive resource to anyone interested in anything related to kettlebells...

Friday, October 5, 2012

WOD- Max Effort 2

Saturday, 10/6/12

Work up to a max weight for each movement, using the given repetition maximum assigned.  Do so over the course of 3-5 sets for each exercise.  Once you have used the most amount of weight possible for the prescribed repetitions, you are done that exercise.  Therefore, continue on to the next movement and repeat the process of progressive resistance, ending in a max effort attempt for each one.  The max weight used in each one is what gets logged in the "comments" section below.  FYI, the weight logged needs to be the same for your right and left arm!

1) Turkish Getup - 1RM (1 repetition maximum = max weight moved for 1 repetition)
2) Front Squat - 5RM ( 5 repetition maximum = max weight moved for 5 repetition)
3) Overhead Press - 5RM ( 5 repetition maximum = max weight moved for 5 repetition)

Compare to: 7/6/12

Monday, October 1, 2012

Free Help!

Anyone interested in having us provide a training demonstration, lecture, or seminar in the Baltimore/ DC area, please contact us at 301-622-9000.  You can also visit our website http://www.marylandkettlebells.com or email us at marylandkettlebells@gmail.com

We can provide help with:

1) Kettlebell Training
2) Athletic Performance Training
3) Injury Prevention
4) Team Training and Safety
5) Fitness and Health
6) Nutrition
7) Personal Training

See some of our training videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MDSportsInjury