Since I announced that I’d be putting on an IKFF Sanctioned Kettlebell Competition at The Beast of the East Fitness Expo here in Connecticut in October 2011, I’ve had a lot of questions about just what exactly a “Kettlebell Competition” is. So, I put this little primer together just to give my friends who have been asking a little something to help them along. The competition itself is The IKFF East Coast Kettlebell Beast and you can follow that link to read more about it and register.

Carrie swinging a kettlbell at CrossFit Relentless

I’m also putting this out there for those who have decided NOT to compete in The Beast of the East, but still want to get some competition experience. Here’s why: there’s just over two months now until The Beast. If you’re a CrossFitter and you chose one or two kettlebell events to enter, you could keep doing your regular CrossFit training and add in kettlebell technique work and a few longer sets to prep for the competition. Knowing what the event is going to be TWO MONTHS OUT is a big advantage for those with “competition jitters” that are particularly intense when faced with the “Unknown and Unknowable” aspect of CrossFit-style competition. This gives you TWO MONTHS to train one or two movements knowing EXACTLY what’s expected on competition day. Yeah, it’s still going to be HARD – but at least you know what you’re getting into ahead of time

How a Kettlebell Competition works…

Kettlebell Competition is done on a 10 minute time limit. Basically, each event is a 10 Minute AMRAP (where AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible). If you’re doing Kettlebell Clean and Jerk (Also called “Long Cycle”), you choose your Kettlebell Weight (Men use one bell in each hand, women use only a single bell with ONE hand switch allowed in 10 minutes.) and you do max reps of Clean and Jerk in the 10 minute time limit without putting the Kettlebell or Kettlebells down. If you can’t finish the full 10 minutes, you terminate your set when you have to by putting the Kettlebells down.

Here’s Ken Blackburn, IKFF Director of Operations, doing a shorter set of Kettlebell Clean and Jerk (Long Cycle):

And here’s my friend Sincere Hogan from NewWarriorTraining.com doing a 10 minute set of Long Cycle in competition:

Another Kettlebell Event is the Snatch. Here’s a vid of Sally from New Warrior Training doing a 10 minute snatch set at The IKFF Nationals Kettebell Competition last year in 2010:

And, there will be some other crazy stuff…

Because Merle and Glenn from CrossFit Relentless and CrossFit 033 are involved in this whole thing, we also decided to add in some other wacky events. These will NOT be IKFF sanctioned but WILL be a lot of fun! Currently, we have a Kettlebell Turkish Get Up for One Rep Max Weight competition scheduled. There will also likely be some other stuff thrown in as well.

Here’s my friend Jason Marshall, RKC doing a Turkish Get Up with a 48kg (106lbs) Kettlebell and some other classic lifts:

And here’s Steve Cotter doing some INSANE stuff with some Kettlebells:

That’s it for now. Drop me an email if you have questions and GET YOURSELF REGISTERED for The Kettlebell Beast!

ttys

Adam

Today’s question comes from Tiffany on Facebook. Here it is!

“Hello Adam

I have been a follower of SINS for awhile now and would like to say thank you for the information, inspiration, and motivation that is put out there. If you have a minute, I was hoping you could give some advice or point me in the right directions?
I have been doing P90X for a year now and would like to move on to something new… I have been researching kettlebells for a few weeks. I just purchased an instructional video by Pavel and “The Kettlebell Goddess workout”. As far as an at-home workout, is this a good place to start? After reading the comments on the kettleworx infomercial I definitely do not want to make the wrong choice. I’m sure taking classes from a certified instructor would be better, but I cannot find any kettlebell classes in the Cincy area. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Tiff”

Thanks again for your question, Tiff!

Here are useful links that I mentioned in the video:

International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation

Dragon Door

Dr. Mark Cheng and Kettlebells Los Angeles

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

Something that eluded me when I first read Enter The Kettlebell by Pavel was the seemingly inordinate amount of time and space he devoted to getting ready to swing. He goes into a ton of detail on picking the bell up, squat and deadlift form, wall squats, etc. When I read all that I felt it was hopelessly remedial. Surely someone with all my experience in traditional weight training and Kettlebell training knows how to squat!

What changed ALL my thoughts on this was the weekend’s Kettlebell and Functional Movement Patterning Seminar with Dr. Mark Cheng, RKC Team Leader at Modern Self Defense Center in Middletown, CT. “Doc” had us start out “learning” to squat for the first 3 hours of the seminar. And it really was learning! He corrected a number of poor movement patterns that we all had. What was really interesting was that he underscored ALL the points Pavel went into in Enter The Kettlebell: Pry the knees out, pull yourself down with the hip flexors, pinch a coin with your glutes when you go back up.

Getting such a thorough and detailed breakdown and instruction in proper squat form to build the Swing on made all the difference in the world! And it gave me an incredible new perspective on the Swing as a fundamental, remedial and corrective movement.

It was the same with the Get Up. The lat and hip engagement going on when we drilled it slow and perfectly with Dr. Cheng was absolutely incredible. I got a completely new appreciation for the seemingly “simple” or “basic” movement. After the seminar, I began to appreciate the Swing and the Get Up as fantastically deep “catalogs of movement.” This brought me back to my traditional martial arts days and kata. In traditional martial arts, you learn forms or kata – long, memorized performances of movements and techniques. The purpose of kata is to give the practitioner a “catalog” of techniques performed properly for practice and as a reference. In any kata there are endless connections and patterns that can be discovered. Even the simplest, most basic kata has an endless amount of detail and knowledge in it.

This is the appreciation I gained from Dr. Cheng for the Swing and the Get Up. Two deceptively simple movements that could be broken down into infinitely detailed and complex movement patterns that – when performed and drilled properly – give a reference and a method for training the body to move properly. OUTSTANDING!

Working with Dr. Cheng also gave me an appreciation for why Pavel made such a big deal out of the Get Up and the Swing in Enter The Kettlebell. The exercises represent FUNDAMENTAL human movement patters that can be drilled over and over again for constant benefit no matter what the practitioner’s level. And they are the BASE for EVERYTHING that comes after in Kettlebell training.

This brings me around to another point that my friend Rolando Garcia made yesterday at the Dr. Cheng Workshop. I asked the question: “How does one incorporate Hardstyle training into their training regimen for Sport style Kettlebell training.” Dr. Cheng gave his answer and then Rolando added that he considers Kettlebell Sport a sport like tennis or basketball or football or whatever. He uses Hardstyle training to create efficient movement patterns, build strength and body awareness and correct imbalances in ALL the athletes he coaches. He lays the foundation with Hardstyle and that makes the “sport specific” training work that much better. Pure genius! And pretty much the end to all the Hardstyle vs. Sport debate in Kettlebells – but I won’t tell anyone if you won’t…

So, if Hardstyle training is a fundamental and foundational training style, couldn’t we think of movements like the Hardstyle Swing and Get Up as fundamental movement patterns like a white belt technique or kata in Karate? The same white belt techniques that a black belt still works toward perfecting? And, just as practicing basic strikes and blocks teach and perfect fundamental movement patterns like proper hip rotation and stability, can we look at the Swing and the Get Up as teaching fundamental movement patterns like proper hip, glute and lat engagement, as well?

More evidence about the foundational nature of Hardstyle training…

With the new knowledge I gained from working with Doc, I started going back through “Enter The Kettlebell.” Something I noticed on page 31 is that Pavel mentions both Steve Cotter (Senior RKC) and Anthony Diluglio (RKC). There are a few interesting points about this. Both of these guys have had a strong influence on me. Anthony Diluglio was really where I got my introduction to kettlebells. I got a 16kg bell from his company Art Of Strength and his “Kettlebell Training Clinic, Volume 1” DVD. It was actually that DVD that originally taught me how to use a Kettlebell.

And, of course, my connection to Steve Cotter is that he, along with Ken Blackburn, certified me as a Kettlebell Teacher through their sanctioning body, IKFF. I had a great time doing the Level 1 CKT with those guys and I learned a TON. Both are fantastic athletes.

So, what’s the point? The point is that both Steve and Anthony STARTED out as RKCs under Pavel as far as I can tell. Steve Cotter went on to form the IKFF and promote Kettlebell Sport primarily and Anthony Diluglio went on to start Art Of Strength. Both Steve and Anthony went on to somewhat different styles of training from the strict “Hardstyle” training taught by Pavel, but they both started with a BASE of Hardstyle training and that base is evident in what they teach and how they teach it.

That’s it for right now. I’m off to see when the next RKC is offered!

ttys

Adam

Originally posted on my site: [http://deathbywallball.com/hardstyle-sport-kettlebell-training]

We were hosted by Red Barn Fitness in Glastonbury, CT and Terri Parker did an absolutely fantastic job of hosting us. Thank you, Terri and everyone else at Red Barn Fitness!

Steve Cotter and Ken Blackburn did a great job teaching and coaching all weekend long. Both of these guys are so accessible, caring and patient in the way they teach. It’s obvious that they are passionate about what they’re doing. And, not only are Ken and Steve great teachers and coaches, each is an inspiring example of physical strength and conditioning.

I’ve done a lot of seminars over the past few years and have found that, many times, the personality giving the seminar is aloof, inaccessible and really operates inside a “bubble” of I’m-better-than-you energy. Ken and Steve were absolutely notable exceptions. They joked and talked and hung out with everyone at the seminar. No favorites, no being aloof. Just teaching and learning and sharing.

I got to spend one-on-one time with both Ken and Steve and was absolutely satisfied with the amount and quality of the individual attention I got. In particular, I noticed that both Steve and Ken took every break as an opportunity to connect and share with everyone. I don’t even remember seeing either one eat – they both took lunch as an opportunity spend informal time with all of us and answer questions.

The level of technical instruction was completely outstanding. You really got the feeling that everyone got individualized attention from Steve and Ken and was a better lifter by the end of the weekend. Steve spent about 30 minutes one-on-one with me during the Saturday lunch break talking about timed sets, work capacity and the mental aspects of completing long timed sets.

Speaking of timed sets, these were something completely new to me. I’d been working some timed kettlebell sets, about a minute or two, for a while now. But, I had never worked timed sets with periods of “rest” or recovery included. I’ll be posting extensively on these soon, but the basic idea is to take a long time period and pace yourself through it on one lift. An extreme example was the 20 minute timed set of cleans we did. Yup, 20 minutes. The deal was: no putting the kettlebell down, one hand switch at the 10 minute mark and a minimum of 10-20 reps per minute. The only “rest” we got was in the racked position or during the swing back to the clean.

Do you think I developed a strong rack and an incredible awareness of every detail of that movement? Absolutely! My clients are going to hate me, because there are going to be A LOT more timed sets coming up.

At the end of the course, Steve talked to us about building our training businesses and how he sees the role of IKFF regarding member support. What really impressed me about Steve’s attitude is how member-centered he has made the IKFF. I’ve been a member of many different types of professional groups over the years including science, marketing, entrepreneurial, fitness and training and a few others.

Every group SAYS they’re “member-focused” but, my experience has found that few truly are. IKFF is absolutely the exception and is absolutely serious about their commitment to supporting their trainers and building relationships. My feeling right from the start was that Steve and Ken were old friends who care about and support every one of their trainers. I was already aware of some of the high standard for support members get from Steve and Ken because of the great feedback I got from two of their more established trainers, Bob Garon and Sincere Hogan. Both of these guys recommended the IKFF cert to me with fantastic enthusiasm and both mentioned the high level of support that comes from Steve and Ken. But, still, I was thoroughly impressed by what I saw from Ken and Steve!

I’ll be posting more on the technical stuff I learned over the weekend in the coming days and weeks, but I have to say that this IKFF event – not to mention Steve and Ken – absolutely exceeded my expectations in every way!

ttys

Adam

Last posted at [http://adamfarrah.net/IKFF-Certified-Kettlebell-Teacher-Glastonbury-CT]