How else can you describe performing a skill, like pressing a heavy weight over your head, that you never imagined possible? Sine I was 14 years old, I have always included strength training in my conditioning and I considered myself to be pretty strong. However, never would step into a gym and grab anything over 12-15 pounds and press it over my head. Yet, I can pick up two 16 kg (35 pound) kettlebells and press them over my head for multiple repetitions. I’m even working on pressing the 24 kg (53 pound) kettlebell!  Would I ever even pick up a 50 pound dumbbell and press it with one arm? Wouldn’t even think about it.

I am no exception and trust me, there are women in the kettlebell community much stronger than I. However, average women who have attended Rethink’s workshops (yes, some of them even grandmas) easily press the 18 pound kettlebell and are amazed. Again, these are women who have never worked with kettlebells and certainly would not pick up an 18 pound dumbbell and press it.

I am not going to get into the specifics of how and why it works, nor a discussion as to how the kettlebell truly works the entire body, not specific body parts. I know that training with kettlebells makes women (and men too) leaner, stronger, and feel more confident. Kettlebell training allows me to clear my head of all the stressors in life and just focus on controlling that weight. I know my entire body from my toes on the floor, to my abs, lungs, and back (not just the shoulder) is needed to press that weight. I’ve run marathons, triathalons, competed in team sports, lifted weights, etc., but nothing has been as rewarding or felt as empowering as training with kettlebells. As Pavel Tsatsouline famously says as the RKC Certifications, “We’re turning you into better men, even the women.”

The answer is simple-anything that’s going to get you closer to your goals.  Whether it’s related to your health, fitness, or life in general, we often forget the greater effects that come from minor tweaks in your routine.  In the following post I’m going to try to convince you to commit to one small change in your routine today that will ultimately lead to greater things. 

Performance Related Tweak

After using kettlebells for about 8 months, I attended a workshop at the legendary Training Room in Avon by the Sea, NJ.  It was presented by Mike and Jim, the owners of the Training Room, and Pam and Jason of Kettlebell Athletics in Philadelphia.  At the time, I was having trouble consistently pressing the 24kg kettlebell on my left side.  It turned out that the way the KB handle was landing in my left palm after my cleans was seriously limiting my pressing power.  Placing the kettlebell ¼ of inch closer to the sweet spot in my palm led to more consistent presses on my left side.  This eventually led to more productive training and better results.  Work on your technique to prevent injury and increase performance.

Dietary Related Tweak

I’m just going to start off by saying if soda and other high calorie drinks are your primary beverages, you need to get a grip.  I’m not going to lie and say I never touch the stuff-I happen to love Coca-Cola-but it makes its way into my belly in very limited quantities.  Let’s run some numbers.  A 12oz can of soda has around 140 calories.  140 X 365(days in a year) = 51,100 calories.  51,100 / 3500(the approximate “magic #” caloric value given to a pound of fat) = 14.6.  This means that if you’re not burning those calories, it could lead to an extra 14.6 pounds on your body.  Your harmless can of soda a day habit could potentially add up to 73 pounds in 5 years.  “But I drink diet soda,” you say.  Trust me you’d be better off replacing it with water. 

Activity Related Tweak

I’m going to let you in on a little secret-there is no such thing as useless activity.  So many people get hung up on numbers.  Whether it’s reps, pounds, or minutes, everyone is looking for the magic number or formula to get them instant results.  When it comes to fitness, people’s heads spin with the huge amount of rules that come with certain programs.  I’ve heard people say “I need to spend this many minutes to get into that zone, so I can get these results.”  The truth is when they don’t have that magical number of minutes, they do nothing at all.  That’s dumb.  I’ll take a dollar a day over nothing at all simply for the fact that I’ll have an extra $365 in my pocket at the end of the year.  Let’s run some numbers again.  If a 150lb person walks 10 minutes a day at 3mph, that person will burn approximately 49 calories.  Do this for a year and you’ll burn 17,885 calories.  That divided by the magic pound of fat number equals about 5lbs of fat lost in a year.  That’s with an easy exercise, too.  Just imagine what the results would be if you did something more intense, but just as convenient like kettlebell swings or snatches!  Do yourself a favor and add any and all of the extra activity you can into your daily routine, and call me when the pounds magically disappear. 

There you have it, three easy changes to your routine that can lead to better results.  I encourage you to make positive changes in your life that will lead you greater things.  These changes shouldn’t be limited to health or fitness related goals either.  After all, we should be complete beings, and improving one area of one’s life will surely improve another.

Joe

Prograde Nutrition

Besides stringent physical requirements and having to prove your proficiency at both personal mastery of technique and the ability to teach the RKC principles, the content of the Cert. is ever changing.  The men and women of the RKC are constantly creating new methods to speed the learning curve of kettlebell training, while improving the safety and effectiveness of the movements they teach. 

In the RKC way, safe technique leads to increased performance.  This seems to go against the grain of the “no pain, no gain” mentality of high intensity fitness, but we work smarter and harder.  Our pain is the kind that comes from effective training; it’s not the “I threw out my back” kind of pain that comes from training like a knucklehead.  Some of the finest minds in physical culture not only speak highly of the RKC Community, they are a part of the RKC Community.  Have you ever heard of Gray Cook or Dan John?  Well, folks, they’re RKCs. 

If you are serious about your kettlebell training, whether it’s for sports performance or being able to keep up with your kids, make sure you are training with someone who is serious about their kettlebell instruction.  Honestly, the complete ass kicking I got for three days in St. Paul, Minnesota wasn’t the hardest part of becoming RKC Certified.  The fact that I have to live up to the standards of the RKC each time I train a new victim is much more overwhelming.  However, these standards are what keep me striving to offer the best kettlebell training experience in North Jersey.  The Cert. was only the beginning of a much broader pursuit of excellence.

So if you are interested in using kettlebells for the first time or have used them and want to tighten up your technique, do yourself a favor and train with an RKC.  We were the first and we continue to be the gold standard in kettlebell instruction.  You also might end up liking this stuff so much that you become an RKC yourself!

Joe

Experience RKC kettlebell training at Rethink Fitness, Franklin Lakes, NJ